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I

LA

^': <^. ^ V

.<•* <

«

>

) THE GREAT ,<^^^ j u

SCHOOLS OF ENGLAND:

"^ AN ACCOUNT OF THE

E0UNDATION, ENDOWMENTS, AND DISCIPLINE

OF THE

Cj^ief Sitvmmt» jof ITtanunj in (Snglanb ;

IKCLUDING

ETON, WINCHESTER, WESTMtNSTElt, ST. PAUL'S, CHARTER-HOUSE,
MERCHANT TAYLORS'. HARROW, RUGBY, SHREWSBURY,

BTC. BTC

BY HOWARD STAUNTON.

IVITff ILLUSTRATIONS,

LONDON :

SAMPSON LOW, SON, AND MARSTON,

MILTON HOUSE, LUDGATE HILL.

1865.

rr/iii ninkl at Trandalion iM rtMTVtdA

1

LONDON :

X. CLAY, SON, AND TAYLOK, PRINTERS,

BRSAD 8TRBBT HILL.

PREFACE.

•0

7.

(

The present compilation was intended in the first instance to
consist of little more than a reprint of some articles on our
chief Public Schools, which appeared a few years since in a
leading newspaper. The publication of the Evidence given
before the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the
Revenues and Management, &a of those Schools, and of the
admirable Report upon that Evidence, rendered a modification
of the original plan of the book indispensable. The work
accordingly has been entirely remodelled and considerably
expanded, and now supplies, it is believed, a variety of
information r^arding the Institutions it treats of, not devoid
of practical value to those interested in* the Educational
agencies of the country, and not elsewhere accessible in a
collected form.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

rACB

Large Quadrangle, Eton College . . Frontispiece,

Audit-room in Winchester College 63

School-room in Winchester College 75

Entrance Gateway, Westminster School 116

School-room OF St. Peter's, Westminster . . . . . 122

St. Paul's School 164

School-room of St. Paul's School 177

Merchant Taylors' School 210

School-room of Merchant Taylors' School ... 223

Charter-house 257

School-room of Charter-house 273

Harrow School 302

School-room of Harrow School 311

Rugby School 350

Chapel of Rugby School 359

The Royal Grammar School, Shrewsbury .... 404

School-room of Shrewsbury School 415

Library, Shrewsbury School 416

Dormitory of Christ's Hospital 442

Grammar School, Christ's Hospital 462

ERRATA.

Page 62 line 14, tor Boccado read Boccaccio.

63 6, for Crescy rtad Cressy.

65 14, for fimction read office.

74 ¥4, for tnm unto Him read live tinto Him.

74 note, line 4 from bottom, for dinner, London read dinner in
London.

80 note 3, line 6 from bottom, for diliquentes, read deliquentea.

86 note i, line 4 from bottom, for stock, interest read stock, the
interest

/

INTRODUCTION.

Nothing out of England corresponds to or resembles the
English Endowed School '' No original, no counterpart, nor
copy of it is to be found abroad ; and it bears no resemblance
to any foreign institution, under whatever denomination, where
boys are assembled for the purpose of education." ^

In France education has the centralized and centralizing
character of all things French. With the exception of the
Military and Veterinary Schools, the Schools of Art and of
Mines, all organizations, and instruments for instruction, are
under the supi-eme control of the University at Paris, which
is not an institution for instruction, but only for superin-
tendence. It is, in fact, a council with the Minister of Public
Instruction at its head. There is no university, properly so
called, in France, except that at Strasburg, the capital of
Alsace, formerly a German province, and still animated by
the German spirit Instead of Universities, France has Acade-
mies ; that is, Faculties for Special Sciences. As, for Catholic
Theology, at Paris, Lyons, Ait, Bordeaux, Rouen, Toulouse ;
for Lutheran Theology, at Strasburg; for reformed or Cal-
vinistic Theology, at Montauban ; for Jurisprudence, at Paris,
Ait, Dijon, Grenoble, Caen, Poitiers, Rennes, Strasbuig, and
Toulouse; for Medicine, at Paris, Montpellier, and Strasburg ;
for Mathematics and the Natural Sciences, at Paris, Caen,
Dijon, Grenoble, Toulouse, and Strasburg; for Literature,

1 Quarterly Review^ Na 231.
b

X Introduction.

at Paris, Toulouse, Ctrasburg, Dijon, and Besan9on. Many
French Theological students are also educated at Geneva.
For what on the Continent is termed secondary instruction,
France has provision by means of three hundred and fifty-
/ eight Colleges, or Gynmasia, of which forty-six are supported
by the State, and the others by the cities to which they
respectively belong. In the primary Schools, for the instruc-
tion of the people, the standard and the practice are as low
as can well be conceived. What are called the Romanic
nations stand much behind the so-tenned Germanic nations
in the matter of popular education; and it is not praising
France much to say that, in this respect, she has the advan-
tage of Italy, Portugal, and Spain. Guizot, Villemain, Cousin,
, and other statesmen, under Louis Philippe, made commendable
I exertions for the enlightenment of their poorer countiymen, but
■ the advent of the Empire appears to have repelled the move-
ment, and now, out of nearly forty millions of inhabitants, only
three millions of children attend school.

Education in no country is less a monopoly or a privilege
than iii Germany. In the Protestant provinces, the children,
almost universally — and in the Catholic provinces, in great
majority — ^attend school Institutions* for education are of
the most various kind; and at the head of them all are
twenty-four universities, with two thousand teachers and
twenty thousand students. It cannot be surprising, there-
fore, if Germany is unrivalled in Classical acquirements, in
Scientific Theology, and in Speculative Philosophy.

The intellectual culture of Denmark is of a high order. It
has already been vigorously promoted by the Government,
which has done all in its power for Art, Science, and general
intelligence. The two chief Universities are that at Copen-
hagen and that at Kiel. At the former there is an average
attendance of eleven or twelve hundred students. For a

/

Iniroduction, xi

population of a million and a half, th^e exist nearly three
thousand primary Schools. Recent calamitous events have,
however, so changed the aspect of the country, that these
estimates are applicable rather to what Denmark was than
to what Denmark is.

In Sweden, everybody is able to read, nearly everybody to
write, and the knowledge of the Catechism, and of Biblical
History, is all but universal Many of the primary Schools
are conducted upon the Lancasterian plan. The two Univer-
sities are those of Lund and of Upsala. For a country so
comparatively poor as Sweden, the number of educational^ of
learned, and of scientific institutions, is marvellous.

In Norway, there is but one University, that of Christiania.
Learned institutions are not numerous, and scientific culture
is not advanced. Popular instruction, however, is widely
diffused. Most of the Norwegians can read and write. The
children are taught either by their parents or by travelling
schoolmasters, the sparseness of the population seldom per-
mitting stationary Schools. Though well-informed, the Nor-
wegians are a singularly bigoted people. They have a rooted
antipathy to Roman Catholics, and they altogether forbid the
residence of Jews in Norway.

In Holland, the three Universities of Leyden, Utrecht, and
Groningen, have long enjoyed a high reputation. Of prepa-
ratory Schools for these Universities there are sixty-eight,
besides two institutions at Amsterdam and Deventer, which
have nearly all the characteristics of universities. There are
Training Schools, Naval Schools, and Schools for Marine
Architecture. Schools for a variety of professional branches
also abound j Collections and Libraries; and Societies and
Unions for the promotion of Science and Art. Though
apparently as phlegmatic as their climate is heavy, the Dutch,
to their honour, stand pre-eminent in knowledge.

b2

xii Introduction.

The population df Switzerland consists of three unggual
/ elements — Germanic, French, and Italian, of which the Ger-
manic is predominant. Much, during the last thirty yeais^
has been effected both by individuals and by the State for
the moral and intellectual development of Switzerland. The
Swiss have even been educational reformers. The fame of
Fellenberg's Agricultural School, in the Canton of Berne, has
penetrated all countries; and the greatest modem regene-
rator of education, Pestalozzi, was a Swiss. At Basle a
University has long existed ; at Zurich and Berne two addi-
tional Universities have been established. The Academies
at Geneva, Lausanne, and Neufchatel, are equivalent to
Universities, thou^ they do not adopt the name ; an educa-
tion at the Academy of Geneva offers advantages of which
few English parents are aware.

It was once designed that there should be a grand Uni-
versity for the whole Swiss Confederation. The scheme has
not been earned into operation, but a Polytechnic School
of the same comprehensive character has been resolved
on, and is probably already organized. In the cantons of
. Switzerland, the people being all soldiers, the expenses of a
' standing army are saved. Hence the Governments are enabled
to spend a larger sum in proportion on the education of the
people than can be spared in other European States. In an
educational point of view, the Roman Catholic cantons are
confessedly and conspicuously inferior to the Protestant No
less, in general culture, the Protestant cantons excel the Roman
Catholic. But it is remarkable that while nearly all the Swiss
eminent in science have been Protestants, Roman Catholic
Switzerland has produced artists, and Italian Switzerland,
though an insignificant part of the whole country, has sent '
forth more sculptors, painters, and architects than all the other
cantons combined

y

Iniroductian, xiii

Education in Belgium is not in a satisfactory condition.
The Roman Catholic clergy have obtained, or at least have
aimed at possessing, almost a monopoly of education. Against
this ambition the Government and the liberal politicians of
the country have had strenuously to contend. As to popular
enlightenment, Belgium stands immeasurably below Holland.
The two National Universities are those of Ghent and Li^e,
bat the Roman Catholic clergy erected, soon after the Revo-
lution which separated Belgium from Holland, a University at
Louvain, which is under the patronage of the Virgin Mary,
and where the strictest ecclesiastical discipline prevails. As a
counteracting agency, the liberal politicians organized a Free
University in Brussels.

In Belgium the Jesuits have four Seminaries. Reflecting
that education should be a grand national fact, into which no
sectarian element ought to intrude, the condition of Belgium
in this respect is infinitely to be lamented.

Q^y offers the striking spectacle of a country which has
done more for the civilization of the world than any other, but
where enlightenment, even in the most restricted sense, has
never reached the minds and homes of the people. The
sublimest educational agencies have abounded — ^still abound —
but the Italian peasant has received no inculcation beyond that
imparted to him by the illimitable beauty of the climate and
by the goigeous pomp of his religion. But as the political
regeneration of Italy has begun, the intellectual regeneration
will doubtless soon follow.

In a country so rigidly and exclusively Catholic as Spain, it
is not easy for popular instruction to penetrate. Out of sixteen
millions of Spaniards, perhaps not much more than the tenth
part can either read or write. Yet Spain has ten Universities,
and at one of them — that of Madrid — seven to eight thousand
students attend There are ample means, therefore, for the

xiv IniroducHoH*

creation of a learned class, though multitudes are sunk in
ignorance, indolence, and superstition. Still, for education, as
for other important things, there has been a considerable
revival in Spain ; and, as the Spaniards are a nobly gifted race,
they may become, ere many years are passed, as enlightened
as they are valiant and chivalrous.

Portugal is a country where popular education can scarcely
be said to exist There are some learned institutions at Lisbon,
and there is a University at Coimbra. But culture was far
more general when Portugal was a great conquering country
than it is now. In Portugal there is more tolerance than in
Spain ; but Portugal is as much deprived as Spain of those
literary, and especially scientific influences, which mould almost
more than politics, the destinies of England, Germany, and
France.

The modem history of Poland is a painfully interesting one.
Few, however, whose sympathies have been awakened for
Poland's woes, are aware that the intellectual development of
this down-trodden people presents much that is impressive and
admirable. The Polish language is highly perfected and sin-^
gularly melodious; and the Polish literature is exceedingly
rich. With the introduction of Christianity, nine hundred years
ago, the civilization of Poland began. For centuries her culture
differed little from that of other countries lying more to the
south-west But the time arrived when Poland was the most
enlightened and tolerant country in Europe. At that period
many remarkable works were written by the Poles in Latin.
' Then arose the national literature, properly so called, and
down to our own day this literature has been fruitful in master-
pieces, of which the works of Migkiewicz, a modem poet of
the highest rank, are among the chief. In 1773, a Ministry
of Public Instruction was established in Poland, the first of the
kind the world had ever known, and Polish patriots laboured

m^nmr..

^9i

Irtifodudiort. xv

bard to give their countr3rmen the light of knowledge. With
the supremacy of Russia, however, reaction and retrogression
b^an, and under Nicholas, the most important educational
institutions were unhappily suppressed.

Since the time of Peter the Great, education in Russia
has undergone remarkable vicissitudes. Peter attempted
to lessen by barbarous means the barbarity of his people.
Catherine II. interested, or affected to interest herself, in
popular instruction. Alexander I. in his earlier and better
days, was perhaps more serious in the matter. But Nicholas,
dreaming only of Russia's geographical expansion and mili-
tary growth, threw education back, as far as it was in his power
to do so. Education, indeed, on a grand scale could never
co-exist with serfdom, and even if the abolition of serfdom
answers all the expectations which it has aroused, its bless-
ings, those of education included, can be only slowly evolved.
There are in Russia seven Universities; but the other important
educational institutions are mainly designed to achieve military
purposes.

Wherever the colonial empire of England extends, education
makes more progress even than in England itself In the
United States of America, education is the general heritage
of the people, though the ideal of education is certainly not
of the loftiest kind.

In Modem Greece where, in harmony with the glory and the
greatness of Ancient Greece, education should be not merely
universal, but nobler than everywhere else, it is deplorably
neglected.

Scotland is a well-educated country, but while the mass of
Scotchmen are perhaps better educated than the mass of
Englishmen, the academical standard is much lower in Scot-
land than in England.
. In education, Ireland resembles Scotland, England, or Bel-

\ /

zvi Introduction,

gium, according as the Presbyterian, the Anglican, or the
Roman Catholic, element predominates.

The most cursory survey of mental cultivation in other
lands is sufficient to show, as we have said, that nothing
elsewhere presents affinities to English Universities or to the
great Endowed Schools. The peculiarity of both is in their
combination of the Cloistral, the Aristocratic, the Classical,
and the National To make this more clearly understood, it
may be desirable to add to the above outline of the present
state of education in various countries, a glance at the
development of Schools.

There is no trace of Schools, in the popular sense of the ^
word,^ till after the introduction of Christianity. Their first '
real founder is supposed to have been Charlemagne. He
erected educational institutions for all classes, in all parts of
his vast dominions, and he invited the co-operation of the
priesthood; but his death and the anarchy which followed
defeated the noble purpose he had in view.

Two classes of Schools, however, had a better fate than
befell the rest — ^the Cloistral Schools — Schola ClaustraleSj or
Manasticay and the Cathedral Schools. The former, indeed,
were not so much created as modified by Charlemagne, for
they had existed from the beginning of the fifth century. The
Cloistral Schools and the Cathedral Schools appear to have
differed little firom each other, except that the latter were under
the immediate supervision of the Bishops, and that their
teachers were the Oanons. To the time of Charlemagne
education was limited to the so-called Triviutn^ including
Grammar, Rhetoric, and Dialectics. By his command, the
Quadrivium was added, consisting of Music, Arithmetic,
Geometry, and Astronomy. The Trivium and Quadrivium
comprehended together the Seven Free Arts.

The chief book employed in the Cloistral Schools was die

L

IniroducHon, xvii

Saiiricon of Mardanus Capella, who lived towards the end of
the fifth century. This work is a kind of allegorical ency-
clopedia, wherein prose and verse are whimsically inter-
mingled. With much that is chaotic and crude, the Satiricon
contains notions somewhat in advance of the author's age.
For example, it presents the germ of the Copemican theory
of the universe. Two or more works of Cassiodorus, who
died about the middle of the sixth century, were also used in
these Schools. The superintendent of a Cloistral School was
called RectoTj or ScholasHcus ; each of the inferior teachers
was termed Magister.

At the beginning of the ninth century, these Monastic
Schools were divided into Internal and External; Schoia
InierioreSy and Schoice Exteriores or Ccmonkcs, The former
admitted those children who were dedicated to a monastic
life and who were called Obiati or Donati; the latter those
who were to be employed in secular affairs; but for the
mass of the people, sunk in bondage, degradation and misery,
the Cloistral Schools were of no value.

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries there was an immense
industrial expansion. Cities acquired political and social
importance, and Schools were formed for the education chiefly
of the children of citizens.^

The Renaissance imparted a stimulus to classical culture,
but it had little direct effect upon the education of the people.
Yet in them the yearning for knowledge was fast becoming
irrepressible.

The schoolmasters, however, merited little esteem and
enjoyed none. They were formed into Guilds ; they travelled

' " It 18 certaiii,'' says Sharon Turner, " that this wasteful period of
civil misery was an interval in which the Anglo-Norman mind was exten-
sively educating itself;" and Mr. Hallam affirms that, "about the latter
part of the eleventh century, that ardour for intellectual pursuits began to
show itself which in the twelfth broke out into a flamew"

jcviii IniroducHoH^

from place to place ; and as they appreciated their occupatioti
meanly, they exercised it mechanically.

It is to the Reformation that Europe owes an education of
the people in the fullest acceptation of the word.

In all Protestant countries about the period of that great
convulsion a generous provision was made for the intellectual
elevation of the children of the middle classes and of the poor.
Except through Protestantism, popular instruction has for
three centuries and a half been modified and improved only
by the efforts of individuals such as Pestalozzi, Jacotot, and
a few more. In the general progress of civilization, education
must always profit, and it may yet be moulded by some fresh
influence — such as it received from Christianity and the Refor-
mation.

How far the great Old Schools of England can be or ought
to be effected by that primordial influence, or by other influ-
ences of a minor kind, cannot be determined by what at first
sight might seem most reasonable. England cherishes the ex-
ceptional and anomalous, and nothing can well be more excep-
tional and more anomalous than her great Endowed Schools.
Though most of them arose when the Middle Ages were
drawing to an end, they are yet in the main supremely
mediaeval in character, and it is difficult to see how the me*
diaeval element can be removed without changing their nature.
Utilitarianism, left to itself, would probably sweep them away
altogether, and substitute an equivalent in the shape of the
German Gymnasia or ReakchuUn. But Utilitarianism is not
the highest wisdom, and these Schools have to be regarded
less in themselves, perhaps, than in relation to a particular
fashion of society. No English institution can be fairly
measured by an ideal standard; for if so estimated nearly
eveiy English institution would be forthwith condemned.
The simple question must be whether a particular institution.

Introduction^ xix

hannonizes with other institutions, and with a certain rude,
vague, yet quite intelligible something, which may be called
the English Scheme of Life. The Great Endowed Schools
are less to be considered as educational agencies, in the
intellectual sense, than as social agencies.

In many respects they are undoubtedly defective. They
neither furnish the best moral training nor the best mental
discipline, nor the most salutary and substantial mental en-
richment ; they do not form the most accomplished scholars
or the most heroic, exalted, and disinterested men, but they
are the theatres of athletic manners, and the training places
of a gallant, generous spirit for the English gentleman. This
is the highest merit claimed for them by the wannest and
most discerning of their admirers. England will, doubt-
less, in due time succeed in creating institutions aiming
mainly at stimulating and storing the mind; but by no
process of transfigurement are the great Endowed Schools
likely to be rendered institutions of this stamp. To be
convinced of this, let any one read the valuable evidence
given before, and the elaborate Report published by, the late
Schools' Commission. The Members of the Commission
were notable alike for integrity and intelligence. Their pre-
judices— if prejudices they had — were all of a conservative
kind. Eton and the other Schools were dear to them as the
homes and sanctuaries of their boyhood. We are not, therefore,
to deem their opinions, conclusions, and suggestions those of
innovators, but the results of sound sense, and of enlightened
experience, tempered by patriotic feeling. Now it is plain the
Commisioners wish the Institutions not so much to be re-
modelled as to be amended. The Schools are still to be more
aristocratical than cloistral, more classical than national. It is
here that we encounter the pith and pinch of the case. How
far the Schools carry out the intentions of the founders

XX Iniroduction.

should be treated as a subordinate point, though by no
means to be lost sight of. It is of vastly more importance
to decide to what extent they achieve a national purpose.
The aristocratical element has immense force in £ngland.
The English aristocracy is the only aristocracy in Europe
which is still powerful, and even the progress of democracy
adds seemingly to its strength. The aspiration of the English
aristocracy is to be, not the best educated, but for practical
purposes the most cultivated. This class, however, does not
exist for its own sake ; does not exist merely to monopolize
certain privileges ; it exists that it may be the national orna-
ment and bulwark ; it exists that it may crown that social
hierarchy which should symbolize the hierarchy of nature.

Now it is in reference to the interests of the social hierarchy
that the English aristocracy should be always contemplated,
otherwise its doom may be the same as that which befell the
aristocracies of Venice and of Poland. If English society as
a whole is intensely aristocratic, the English Universities, the
great English Endowed Schools, the English Church, the
English Army, the English Navy should be aristocratic also,
though still in entire subserviency to the most glorious of the
national destinies. Theorising on the subject will profit little,
and the English are wisely impatient of theories. But it is
evident that conservative realists as the English may be, prone
though they are to let the aristocratic element have its due
empire, they must yet allot the foremost place to the National
idea. It is not then timid conservatives, neither is it inno-
vators, theorists, utilitarians, common-place mechanical re-
formers, that should deal with the Great Endowed Schools ;
but what we may fairly term the heart, and conscience, and
reverence of the nation. If the noblest instincts of the people
were consulted, they would assuredly oppose organic change
in these venerable institutions, but they might demand that

IniroducHofU xxi

their cloistered aspect should be diminished, their aristocratic
associations elevated, their classical power expanded and fer-
tilized, and their national leaven and lineaments increased.
The best friends of these Schools confess that they contain
much that is pedantic, much that is puerile, much that is anti-
quated, much that is obsolete, much that is obstructive, and
not a little that is barbarous, and that, like other English insti-
tutions, they are apt to confound stolidity with solidity. Let
then abuses be removed ; let absolute obscurantism cease, and
let such improvements be adopted as commend themselves,
not to superficial progress, but to the most exalted wisdom.

To make the loftier kind of education in England what it
ought to be, three measures are chiefly needful : the appointment
of a Minister of Public Instruction, with somewhat of auto-
cratic authority ; the establishment of a National University,
and the formation of Academies and Schools corresponding
to the Gymnasia and the Realschulen of the Germans, in which
the business of instruction should not be monopolized, to the
extent it is in our Great Schools, by the Ministers of the Church.

Education in England is at present very much of a chance-
medley affair. It has neither unity of object nor of spirit.
The whims of individuals, the bigotry of sects, the timid
interference of the Government, the tricks of charlatans,
sciolism, incompetency, coarse popular feeling, and necessity,
all commingle and counteract What fruits can such a system,
or rather such an absence of system, bearl A Minister of
Public Instruction would not, it is true, eradicate the whole
evil, would not provide a perfect remedy, but he would be an
efficient instrument of a great reformation. He would potently
help to bring order and unity; he would infuse eneigy, and
would compel even the most recalcitrant and incapable to
follow a comprehensive plan. In this country there is a dis-
like, and a very proper dislike, to that bureaucratic meddling

J

xxii Introduction.

which is the bane of Continental States. But we sometimes
suffer as much from the want of centralization as other nations
do from its excess. By all means let bureaucracy, which is the
pedantry of despotism, be opposed. Let no dread, however, be
entertained of centralization where education is concerned; for
vigorous centralization would quicken and stimulate public
instruction, enlarge its scope, and hasten its march.

A National University in or near the Metropolis, is one of
the most urgent national needs. This might be the noblest
University on the earth. The British Empire is not limited to
the British Islands ; and British influence is not limited to the
British Empire. London is the centre of the world's material
commerce ; it might be the centre of a diviner commerce — .
that of mind. The cosmopolitanism which would destroy
earnestness and efface nationalities is not to be commended,
but how desirable a point would that be, where^ what is best
in all nationalities, could meet 1

In certain social agencies and aspects, France must rule, as
heretofore ; and Germany for ages must remain the teacher of
deepest thought to mankind. As, however, England has pro-
duced the most catholic of poets, Shakespeare, she could be
the most catholic of countries, and a National University
would aid her in the magnificent design.

The Gymnasia of Germany, though of Mediaeval origin,
retain few Mediaeval features. They are a more perfect kind
of Grammar Schools than those with which we are familiar in
England. To the science and art of teaching not much atten-
tion has been given amongst us. In Germany it has been
thoroughly and comprehensively studied. The German Gym-
nasia are the preparatory Schools for the Universities. They
have therefore in a supreme degree attracted the attention of
German educationists.

Originally, the Greek Gymnasium had simply a physical, an

Jntroduction, xxiii

athletic purpose, in harmony with the name. Gradually, though
still remaining theatres for muscular exercises, the Greek Gym-
nasia embraced moral and intellectual objects. They are
chiefly known to us in modem times as the spots where Plato,
Aristotle, [and other famous philosophers, taught or lectured.
For a time, simply open spaces, shaded with trees, they were
transformed into majestic structures, the marvel and the boast
of Grecian architecture* Adorned with the altars of the gods,
with the statues of demigods and heroes, with bas>reliefs and
pictures, commemorating patriotic deeds, and recalling reli-
gious systems, they then spoke more eloquently to the heart
of Grecian youth than even the voice of the greatest poets
and philosophers.

The Germans have imitated the Greek Gymnasium as far
as their own pedantry and the bureaucratic caprices of their
Governments have permitted them to do so.

In some Universities, the Scotch particularly, the professors
of Latin are called professors of Humanity; and the word
Humanity, in its most exalted sense, as signifying whatsoever
ennobles while enlightening the Human Being, indicates what
the German Gymnasia aim to impart As vehicles and trea-
suries of this humanism, the Greek and Latin languages have
held a leading position. Their right to this position is not
disputed, but some earnest German educationists have proposed
to deliver Greek and Latin from the bondage of grammatical
formalism, and to fill them with life. This change can hardly
be too much commended ; for we gain little by familiarizing
ourselves with the Greek or Latin speech unless we enter by
sympathy and imagination into the innermost existence of
antiquity. No less desirable is a reform which would approxi-
mate the German Gymnasium to the Greek G3annasium in
respect to athletic sports. But how, and to what extent the
positive and the practical, as distinguished from the classical

zxiv ItiiroducHofL

and the ideal, should enter among the regular labours of the
Gymnasium, must be subject for serious and anxious inquiry.
The question has already been a perplexity to German govern*
ments and German educators. On the one hand, nothing
should be absent which is needful to the completeness and
perfection of education : on the other, nothing merely utilitar
rian should be admitted, nothing tending to degrade the
divine mission of Instruction. The educational forces should
be diversified, grouped, intensified, — ^never dispersed Germany
is approaching nearer and nearer every year to political unity,
and the German Gynmasia cannot fail to be immensely affected
by this circumstance.

In the German Gymnasia, as in English Public Schools,
though in a less degree, the religious element is a difficulty.
But in Geimany, as elsewhere, it will cease to be a difficulty
the moment the catholic spirit of religion, — ^so embracing and
so penetrating, — is recognised.

The Realschiden of Germany arose about the beginning of
the last century. Their birthplace was Prussia, and nearly all
the Realschulen follow Prussian models. The middle classes
send to the Realschulen those of their children not intended
for the learned professions. Mathematics, the Natural Sciences,
and the Modem Languages, especially French and English, are
taught. Latin sometimes forms part of the instruction, though
the leading German educationists are opposed to its admission.
The studies in the Realschulen must be regarded as a prepara*
tion for the ordinary work of the world. They are, in intention,
decidedly utilitarian, and view Industrialism as the one grand
fact of recent days. They aim at making not learned men,
but intelligent and energetic men. Some Realschulen strive to
combine three things : — ^general instruction, industrial instruc*
tion, and technical instruction ; chemicals and linear drawing
forming portions of the last It is confessed, however, that ^

Introduction, txv

these Schools are still in a transitional state, and that they
must undergo numerous and considerable modifications before
they approach perfection.

The industrialist, it should be remembered, does not cease
to be a citizen ; the citizen does not cease to be a man. As
little, then, from the education of the industrialist, as from the
education of any one else, should idealism be excluded. Ideal-
ism does not despoil the practical of its essential attributes ;
it merely widens its grasp and elevates its glance. What is
stricUy, sternly practical is not practical enough. There is a
tendency to confound the ideal and the theoretical, which is
mischievous.^ The French are the most theoretical, the least
ideal, of nations. Into our Realschulen nothing theoretical
should enter; but these Schools cannot be too deeply inter-
spersed with the noblest idealism.

The time seems ripe for the creation in England of Gym-
nasia and Realschulen, or, as the French call them, Higher
Elementary Schools. Indeed, an agitation on the subject may
be said to have begun.

We speak, in England, somewhat vaguely of the Middle
Classes^ but the expression comprises a multitude so vast and
various as to include persons exceedingly opulent and exceed-
ingly poor.

For the wealthiest of the Middle Classes the education of
their children is an easy affair. The chief institutions, the chief
instrumentalities, — ^public and private, — are at their command.
But for the poorest of these classes, a huge struggling mass, the

^ One obvious reason for this confusion is our inveterate habit of explain-
ing an abstract Greek notion by modem applications to practice. To the
Greek, "theory!' and "idea'' would indicate a dose relation and adapta-
bility to one another, that of "genius" and "the subject-matter upon
which genius was employed ;" to us, these words convey no such meaning.
The Greek astronomer would be ideal, most modem writers on mathematics
are theoretical. Similarly, Plato in his fancied republic is an idealist ; the
French inventors of constitutions mere theorists.

C

xxid Introduction.

education of their children is a burden and a perplexity of the
most serious kind. They are not the most competent judges
of a good education, and they send their children either as
boarders or as day-scholars to cheap private schools,— often
kept by ignorant pretenders, — schools which flourish in spite
of the fiercest denunciations of satirists and reformers. It is for
the children of the less fortunate of the Middle Classes that
Gymnasia and Higher £lementaiy Schools are wanted. The
duty of framing these institutions should not fall on the Govern-
ment alone ; municipalities should zealously and generously co-
operate. The Government, indeed, should only supplement, —
as to aid, direction, and supervision, — ^what the municipalities
attempt.

To the Higher Elementary Schools, to the G}rmnasia, to the
National University, the aristocracy, the country gentry, the
more wealthy of the commercial class, would not, for obvious
reasons, send their sons. They will continue to prefer Eton
and Harrow, Oxford and Cambridge.

This being so, we have to consider how the great Endowed
Schools can be brought into unison with existing circumstances
without forfeiting their substantial and hereditary qualities.

In the great Endowed Schools, Greek and Latin must
valiantly persist in holding their ancient dominion.^ But might

1 We believe that for the instruction of boys, especially when collected in
a large School, it is material that there should be some one principal
branch of study, invested with a recognised and, if possible, a traditional
importance, to which the principal weight should be assigned, and the
largest share of time and attention given.

We believe that this is necessary in order to concentrate attention, to
stimulate industry, to supply to the whole School a common ground of
literary interest and a common path of promotion.

The study of the classical languages and literature at present occupies
this position in all the great English Schools. It has, as we have already
observed, the advantage of long possession, an advantage so great that we
should certainly hesitate to advise the dethronement of it, even if we were
prepared to recommend a successor.

Iniroductum* xxvii

they not be taught with far more vital pith and plenitude than
at present 1 The scholarship of England has not kept pace
with that on the Continent In resisting innovation wisely, it
has resisted improvement unwisely; foigetting that all true
conservatism ought to be liberal, creative, regenerative^ and
progressive.

Withm the last sixty or eighty years there has been a prodi-

It b not, however, without zeason that the foremost place has in fact been
asigned to this study. Grammar is the logic of common speech, and there
are few educated men who are not sensible of the advantages they gained as
boys from the steady practice of composition and translation, and from
their introduction to etymology. The study of literature is the study, not
indeed of the physical, but of the intellectual and moral world we live in,
and of the thoughts, lives, and characters of those men whose writings
or whose memories succeeding generations have thought it important to

We are equally convinced that the best materials available to Englishmen
for these studies are furnished by the languages and literature of Greece
and Rome. From the regular structure of these languages, from their
logical accuracy of expression, from the comparative ease with which their
etymology is traced and reduced to general laws, from their severe canons
of taste and style, from the very fact that they are " dead," and have been
handed down to us directly from the periods of their highest perfection,
comparatively untouched by the inevitable process of d^eneration and
decay, they are, beyond all doubt, the finest and most serviceable models
we have for the study of language. As literature they supply the most
graceful and some of the noblest poetry, the finest eloquence, the deepest
philosophy, the wisest historical writing ; and these excellencies are such as
to be appreciated keenly, though inadequately, by young minds, and to
leave, as in i»gX they do, a lasting impression. Beside this, it is at least
a reasonable opinion that this literature has had a powerful effect in
moulding and animating the statemanship and political life of England.
Nor is it to be forgotten that the whole civilization of modem Europe
is really built upon the foundations laid two thousand years ago by two
highly dvilized nations on the shores of the Mediterranean ; that their
languages supply the key to our modem tongues ; their poetry, history,
phQosophy and law, to the poetry and history, the philosophy and juris-
prudence, of modem times ; that this key can seldom be acquired except
in youth, and that the possession of it, as daily experience proves, and
as those who have it not will most readily acknowledge, is very far from
bHng merely a literary advantage. — See Report of Public Schools* Commiisioriy
p. 28.

C 2

xxviii Introduction.

gious revolution in the mode of studying the past In the
times of Voltaire it was the habit to sneer at the past as brutal,
superstitious, and insane. But to sneer is, too often, to be
blind and unjust. We see no farther than we revere.

The genius and erudition of the nineteenth century are
incomparably more fruitful than those of the eighteenth, by
being more reverent, genial and sympathetic In the eighteenth
century the past was underrated ; in the nineteenth it is over-
rated ; this, however, is the better extreme of the two. We
defraud and impoverish ourselves to the amount that we
detract from what in itself is great, while, by the homage that
we bring to it, we ourselves are the wealthier. The final and
pregnant philosophy on the subject is, that we have to behold
and feel the past as if it were alive, and as if long ages did not
sever us therefrom. At our great Public Schools, unhappily,
there is little of this puissant psychological reconstruction in
regard to antiquity. The Greeks and Romans are there treated
as if they and their languages were really dead ; and the no-
menclature of a lingual anatomy is taught and learned, bu
nothing more.

It will be granted that an acquaintance with the Greek and

Latin languages is sought because there were Greeks and

Romans ; and an acquaintance with Greeks and Romans

because Greeks and Romans were men. If the Grammar is to

be a big Fetich and the Dictionary a bigger, and if a youth's

knowledge of the ancients is to be limited to the rules for

worshipping those two Idols, there are a thousand ways, none

of them the noblest, in which he could be more profitably
employed.

It is with the heart, the soul, the whole organic existence of

the ancients, that the English youth, who has himself a heart

and soul, needs to be familiar. The acquisition of the Greek

and Latin languages by a vigorous analytic process may be

Iniroductiatu xxix

desirable, but this process is pernicious unless accompanied by
a bold and bountiful synthetic process in reference to the sub-
stance and form of the Greek and Roman Communities. It
is important to read twenty lines of Homer, or of Virgil, analy-
tically, it is incomparably more important to read two hundred
lines of each synthetically. The synthetic process here would
not only be a benefit in itself, it would aid the analytic process ;
just as the practical becomes more practical from an infusion
of the ideal

In the education of the young, we have to begin by exciting
their interest ; if we succeed in this, the rest is not difficult
That there is no royal path to knowledge, has been so often
said, that it has grown into a proverb ; yet all knowledge is in
itself attractive. When it loses its fascination, the fault must
be in the mode of its communication. Can anything be more
preposterous than that the mind of the young should be bur-
dened and wearied at the outset by that which should be the
delight, if ever it is to be the nourishment, of their being ?
How many who have gone through all the routine of a clas-
sical education will testify that their love for the classics began
only when they had bid farewell to School and Universities !
The explanation presents itself at once. Sophocles took all
the charm of Shakespeare, Homer all the charm of Scott, when
read like Shakespeare and like Scott^

In some foreign Schools, modem take precedence of ancient
languages. Much may be said in favour of this inversion. It
has the recommendation of being natural, for Nature leads us,
by slow degrees, from the lowly to the lofly, from the simple to
the compound. But our great Public Schools would scorn this
plan. They ought not, however, to scorn the lesson which
it offers. The phases in a salutaiy educational gradation are

^ The testimony of Gray, relative to his matured fondness for Virgil, is
well known by every one competently acquainted with English literatnre.

JfUroducHan.

these. We have to start by enchaining the attention, by en-
gaging the sympathies. Then we store and fructify the intel^
lect ; then we cultivate it ; then we give it discipline. Finally,
we mingle and mould all we have been doing and bestowing,
into a training of the whole individual. In accordance with
this principle, the m]rthology of the ancients should be pictured
in the most poetic manner to the young. If we induce them to
love the " Gods of Greece," such as Schiller has pourtrayed
them, they will be sure to love the men of Greece. Books
here avail little. Painting, sculpture, and architecture must
unite to render vivid to the student the glow and the flow of a
social, and political, and religious life so different from our
own. Art has various vocations ; one of the chief is to restore,
to clothe again with flesh, what has been buried for thousands
of years. In teaching the Classics, we have not yet passed
beyond the period of the dry bones. Who is to breathe on
these dry-as-dust relics with creative energy, and summon from
the Valley of Death forms of glory, strength and beauty f
What is to be the regenerative agency if our educational insti-
tutions continue apathetic 1 From whom, except from them,
their masters and their disciples, are we to expect a renewal
of ancient history, ancient geography, ancient biography, in
the best, the widest sense of the expression 1^

* The importance of some attention to history and geography is recog*
nised, more or less, at all the Schools, but in general there is little sys-
tematic teaching of either. In the lower forms it is common to give lessons
in the outlines of history and in geography ; but, as a boy advances in the
School, it appears to be generally considered that all which can be done
for him in this particular is to set him a portion of history to get up by
himself^ to examine him in it, and to encourage more extended study of
the subject by means of prize essays. Where such special examinations in
history are held they take place usually either at the end or at the begin-
ning of the term, the portion set being in the latter case a " holiday task.**
At Harrow and Rugby a regular historical cycle has been constructed, by
which every boy is made to traverse the whole outline of Classical, Biblical,
and English history in the coarse of his stay at School, provided he remains

IniroiucHon.

Classical culture is a portion of Catholic culture, but
Catholic culture is not the synonym of encyclopaedic culture, as
this again must be distinguished from crude, chaotic, superficial,
popular information. Can Science, whose empire extends so
rapidly, be brought as an element of Catholic culture into our
great Public Schools I To judge by the example of Germany,
Science and Classical culture are not incompatible. Germany
holds the foremost rank in Science, no less than in Classical
culture. Moreover, at the German Universities, Science and
Classical culture equally flourish. Not as popular information,
not as appertaining to comprehensive knowledge, or cyclo-
paedic culture, can Science claim a domain at the great Public
Schools, but as helping to perfect Catholic culture. In this
aspect of the afiair, no outcry can be raised about Sciolism.
Multifariousness is not of necessity fatal to depth. The most
learned men have always been learned in a diversity of
directions. Indeed, it is a characteristic of true erudition,
that its breadth is alwajrs equal to its proftmdity. It is not
the scanty amount communicated, but the hasty and careless
mode of communication from which Sciolism springs.

There is no reason, then, why the pupils at the Great

Public Schools should not know the outlines of all the

Sciences, while devoting special attention to particular Sciences,

such as Astronomy, Geology, and Chemistry.^

the average time and advances at the average rate. At Rugby, whilst
a part of the historical reading is done as a holiday task, part is done also
in the form of regular lessons in School. The practice of requiring aU the
upper boys to read histoiy, and of examining them in it, is, however, by
no means universal, neither is that of setting prize essays on historical
subjects. It is, of course, assumed everywhexe that the boys are asked
soch historical and geographical questions as are suggested by their daily
oonstruing-lessons, but this is left to the discretion of the foim-master.
At Eton some of the tuton occasionally read histoiy with their pupils as
*' private business. " — See Rtport^ p. 1 7.

1 Natural science^ with some slight exceptions, ,is practically excluded
from the education of the higher classes in England. Education with us

is.

xxxii JfUroducHon,

A powerful argument in favour of Science as a branch of
Education is, that Science cherishes the instinct, and promotes

ia, in this respect, narrower than it was three centuries ago, whilst science
has prodigiously extended her empire, has explored immense tracts, divided
them into provinces, introduced into them order and method, and made
them accessible to alL This exclusion is, in our view, a plain defect and
a great practical eviL It narrows unduly and injuriously the mental
training of the young, and the knowledge, interests, and pursuits of men
in maturer life. Of the large number of men who have little aptitude
or taste for literature, there are many who have an aptitude for science,
especially for science which deals, not with abstractions, but with external
and sensible objects ; how many such there are can never be known, as
long as the only education given at schools is purely literary ; but that
such cases are not rare or exceptional can hardly be doubted by any
one who has observed either boys or men. Nor would it be an answer,
were it true, to say, that such persons are sure to find their vocation,
sooner or later. But this is not true. We believe that many pass through
life without useful mental employment, and without the wholesome interest
of a favourite study, for want of an early introduction to one for which
they are really fit It is not, however, for such cases only, that an early
introduction to natural science is desirable. It is desirable, surely, though
not necessary, for all educated men. Sir Charles Lyell has remarked
on the advantage which the men of literature in Germany enjoy over our
own, in the general acquaintance which the former possess with what is
passing in the scientific world ; an advantage due to the fact that natural
science to a greater or less extent is taught in all the German schools. To
clergymen and others who pass most of their lives in the country, or who,
in country or town, are brought much into contact with the middle and
lower classes, an elementary knowledge of the subject, eariy gained, has
its particular uses ; and we believe that its value, as a means of opening
the mind and disciplining the faculties, is recognised by all who have
taken the trouble to acquire it, whether men of business or of leisure. It
quickens and cultivates directly the faculty of observation, which in very
many persons lies almost dormant through life, the power of accurate and
rapid generalization, and the mental habit of method and arrangement ; it
accustoms young persons to trace the sequence of cause and effect; it
familiarises them with a kind of reasoning which interests them, and which
they can promptly comprehend ; and it is perhaps the best corrective for
that indolence which is the vice of half-awakened minds, and which shrinks
finom any exertion that is not, like an effort of memoiy, merely mechanicaL
With sincere respect for the opinions of the eminent Schoolmasters who
differ from us in this matter, we are convinced that the introduction of the
elements of natural science into the regular course of study is desirable, and
we see no sufficient reason to doubt that it is practicable. — ^See Report^ P* 3i.

Iniroduciion. xxxiii

tBe habit of observation. Books have an inestimable value,
but they are liable to overfeed the memory and famish the
other faculties. When we have become the interpreters of
Nature, then are books revelations. Interest a boy in Astro-
nomy, in Geology, in Chemistry, in Botany, and he yearns,
not only for Astronomical, Geological, Chemical, and Bota-
nical books, but finds a freshness in books of every kind,
through the freshness of his own perceptions. Besides, as
Science is now deemed indispensable in the education of the
lower classes, it would surely be a solecism to exclude it from
the education of those above them. Furthermore, if we
would disrobe industrialism, which is applied science, of its
repulsive and materialistic features, and array it in poetry, it
must be by cultivating science in its most exalted principles
that we can best accomplish this. Finally, they who are
destined to be English legislators should remember that
Francis Bacon, the greatest of scientific reformers, was Lord
Chancellor of England

To Modem Languages, at some of our great Public Schools,
a footing is now allowed, but always grudgingly. They are still,
in most cases, regarded as impertinent intruders, though the
acquisition of a language is like the conquest of a world!
There are four languages with which every one receiving the
education of a gentleman should be familiar — French, Ger-
man, Italian, and Spanish. Of French, at least, no cultivated
poison should be ignorant. It is the universal language of
polite society. For the student and the merchant, German
ranks in importance next to French ; Italian and Spanish,
which Charles V. called the language of the gods, are a kind
of luxury which the gentleman should partake of, if French
and German offered him leisure. French at our great Schools
should be compulsory; ^ German, Italian and Spanish, optional

^ Afisoming, thenefore, for the present at least, that the course of study

is

V

xxxiv Introdudum.

But it is a waste of time to learn any language unless it be
learnt thoroughly. A modem language must be dull and

is to nm xnainly — we do not say undeviatingly — ^in one track, we are of
opinion that the classical languages and literature should continue to hold,
as they now do, the principal place in public School education. We are
equally convinced that they ought not to be studied solely and exclusively.
To enter fully into this subject would require a lengthened dissertation*
We may content ourselves with saying that it is the office of education,
not only to discipline some of the faculties* but to awaken, call out, and
exercise them all so far as this can be usefully done in boyhood; to awaken
tastes that may be developed in after life; to impart early habits of readings
thought, and observation ; and to furnish the mind with such knowledge at
is wanted at the outset of life. A young man is not well educated — and
indeed is not educated at all — ^who cannot reason or observe or express
himself easily and correctly, and who is unable to bear his part in cultivated
society from ignorance of things which all who mix in it are assumed to be
acquainted with. He is not well educated if all his information is shut up
widiin one narrow circle, and he has not been taught at least that beyond
what he has been able to acquire lie great and varied fields of knowledge,
some of which he may afterwards explore if he has inclination and opporw
tunity to do so. The kind of knowledge which is necessary or useful,
and the best way of exercising and disciplining the fiEunilties, must vary, of
course, with the habits and requirements of the age and the society in which
his life is to be spent Thus, when Latin was the common language of
educated men, it was of primary importance to be able to speak and write
Latin; so long as French is, though in a different manner and degree^
a common channel of communication among educated persons in Europe^
a man can hardly be called well educated who is ignorant of French. The
mental faculties of men remain much the same, but the subjects on which,
and the drcumstances in which, they are to be exerted, vary continually.
The best form of discipline^ therefore, may not be the same in the nine*
teenth as it was in the sixteenth century, and the information which will
be serviceable in life is sure to be very different Hence, no system of
instruction can be framed, which will not require modification from time
to time. The highest and most useful office of education is certainly to
train and discipline; but it is not the only office. And we cannot but
remark that whilst in the busy world too great a value perhaps is sometimes
set upon the actual acquisition of knowledge, and too little upon that
mental discipline which enables men to acquire and turn it to the best
account, there is also a tendency which is exactly the reverse of this, and
which is among the besetting temptations of the ablest schoolmasters ; and
that if very superficial men may be produced by one of these influences,
very ignorant men are sometimes produced by the other. — See Report^ p. ja

Introduction. xxxv

noattiactive to us unless we have opportunities of speaking
it with facility, or are intimate with its literature. There is
perhaps no language, except Greek, which we can have delight
in acquiring for the simple perfections of its forms. To teach
the grammar of the Greek language is to teach not a little ; to
teach the gnunmar of a modem language, however accurately,
is to teach almost nothing. The teacher of the Greek
grammar is required only to be complete master of the
Greek grammar; but the teacher of the French or German
grammar is required to have considerable conversational
ability, as well as a wide and living knowledge of the literature
of France or Germany, because in the pupil the conversational
talent has to be cultivated, and the literary interest to be
awakened and fostered.

Drawing, like French, should at the Great Schools be
compulsory. Drawing is an accomplishment, but it is much
more than an accomplishment. To learn the true relations of
nature to art, is to gain, if not a higher, certainly a more
refined, sense of duty. The sympathy also for nature deepens
the 63rmpathy for man. Drawing is an education of the eye
and the hand. It enriches us with the temper and the
tendency to behold the wonderful and the beautiful in what is
minute as well as in what is mighty.

Music was one of the seven Free Arts. It hallowed the
others, while it had a vocation of its own. Strange that
what was deemed a grace, a gift, and a necessity, in ages which
we call barbarous, should be neglected in times which boast of
their enlightenment I To the ancients, music had a divine
symbolical significance. In the great Christian centuries it was
consolation, ecstasy, passionate adoration. Since the Reforma-
tion it has achieved triumph on triumph. But superior in a
scientific point of view as modem music may be to the music
CH antiquity, and to that of the Middle Ages, it has lost nearly

xxxvi IntroduJunL

all its S3rmbolism, and much of its popular religious elevation.
In our Great Schools it should recover the symbolism which it
had among the ancients, and the mystical religious beauty and
suggestiveness which it had in the Middle Ages. The pupils,
besides being scientifically instructed in music, should daily
take part in a choral service.^ If the labours of the day began
with such a service, they would be carried on with great
vivacity ; if they were concluded with one, the hearts of the
pupils would be wonderfully solemnized and sanctified. It is
a common and a lamentable error to inculcate that by dogma
which should be excited and sustained by emotion. Music in
these Schools would often be a softening and purifying power,
where dogma and discipline are utterly helpless.^

Rhetoric, in its most manifold and conclusive force, shoidd
occupy at our great Schools not the loftiest, but an honourable
province.

Of all the chief modem languages, English is perhaps the
worst spoken and the worst written by educated people. It is
written too often with an almost total disregard of euphony,
elegance, and even grammar; and it is spoken mincingly or
mouthingly, with countless horrible disfigurements. Why
should not English be written with as much of precision and
propriety and classical finish as French? Why should not
Englishmen speak as accurately as Frenchmen) We need
not, in England, as respects language, be apprehensive of

1 By a remarkable fatality, the practice of some of onr Public Schools
has in this respect gone directly against the intentions of their founders.
Witness two London Schools, Westminster and St Paul's, each of them
undoubtedly intended to maintain an intimate connexion with the Metro-
politan Cathedral which it adjoins.

' We are of opinion that every boy should learn either music or drawing;
during a part at least of his stay at SchooL Positive inaptitude for the
education of the ear and voice, or for that of the hand and eye, is we
believe rare ; and these accomplishments are useful as instruments of train-
ing, and valuable possessions in after life.— See R^ort^ p. 33.

Introduction. xxxvii

becoming purists ; the danger lies in the opposite direction.
Pedantry in speech is an evil ; barbarism in speech is a greater
evil. Something has been said in late debates on the subject
of the power of academies ; but the influence of a National
Academy in arresting the corruption of the English language
would be small compared to that which our Endowed Schools
could exert

That a boy should be able to speak and write his native
language as it ought to be spoken and written, is of more solid
and lasting importance than that he should excel in the composi-
tion of Greek and Latin verses ; yet many a boy can do the
latter, who is utterly incompetent to the former. The orator, like
the poet, is bom, not made ; in every youth, however, may be y
implanted and improved the oratorical sense ; the enthusiastic \y
sense of eloquent utterance. By the oratorical sense, the sense
of style is, if not formed, still deeply influenced ; and the sense
of style b the best safeguard against inaccuracies in writing and
speaking. The French have an exquisite sense of style, because
they are a rhetorical people, and they shun grammatical errors
as they shun errors of pronunciation, mainly because they have
an exquisite style.

At the great Public Schools oratorical improvisation should
be a prominent exercise.^ It is impossible for the very rudi-
ments of Rhetoric to be studied without such exercise. Much
may be learned from Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian, and
from their modem interpreters and imitators, in regard at

1 The snperficiality complained of in the knowledge of the present day
may in some degree be ascribed to the abandonment of a good old English
liabit — ^that of reading aloud at stated times. We hardly need the advice
of the younger Pitt and the late Sir Robert Peel to recommend the resump-
tion of this usefid practice. Though the inordinate cultivation of the
oratorical sense is apt to breed declaimers, and to render discourse artificial
and bombastic, still its total neglect is fertile in mischief which cannot be
too keenly denounced and deplored.

xxxviii Introduction.

least to rhetoric, invention, and arrangement. Practice^ how-
ever, tempered by severe but enlightened criticism must be
the chief teacher.

An admirable plan is pursued in some of the educational
institutions on the Continent The students in turn read
their own compositions, or give an oratorical improvisation
before their assembled brethren. Any of those inclined to
criticise the performance has full liberty to do so. When all
the critics have spoken, the professor pronounces a calm,
impartial verdict The advantages of this plan can hardly
be commended too warmly. The reader ^r speaker gains
confidence, facility, promptness, and what is better still, the
ideal of style is kindled in his souL The critics, who the day
following may be the criticised, learn perspicacity along with
judicial breadth and genial appreciation, while the professor,
not fbrgetting to weigh with sovereign judgment both merits
and defects, leads from details to the very loftiest principles.
If this or a similar probation were adopted in the higher forms
of the great English Schools, each pupil would be at once
orator, and critic, and judge, in the most honourable and
pregnant significance of the words, would possess a refined
literaiy taste, and would speak and write the English language
with a purity befitting its majesty and nobleness.

It would be of real importance to let Rhetoric embrace an
acquaintance with English literature and with its masterpieces
in every age. But this can never be achieved without a his-
tory of the English language, and such a history can never be
intelligible without the study of Anglo-Saxon and of Norman-
French, a study which — ^besides its other benefits — ^would be
an excellent introduction to etymology.

Into that strange, mysterious, sublime, but often labyrinthine
world called Metaphysics, it is not advisable perhaps to conduct
youth ; but Dialectics, as one of the seven Free Arts, as the

Introduction. xxxix

sister and companion of Rhetoric, and as a powerful instru-
ment of mental discipline, should not be overlooked. Men
are not mere reasoning machines, but if they reason at all,
they should reason well, and the benefit is inestimable of
possessing, in addition to the guidance of the natural judg-
ment, the scientific habit of discussion. It is not, however,
merely to be intellectual athletes that we learn by means of
Dialectics. They enable us to see, to expound, to vindicate
truth, and to detect and defeat fallacies; they save us from
the thraldom of superstitions, prejudices, and bigotries. Evexy
intellectual acquisition should be a moral gain. An intel-
lectual acquisition, however, may be a moral loss. To prevent
this, Dialectics lend their vigorous succoiu*. In a country like
England, also, where the institutions and influences are too
often of a sectarian kind, and tend therefore to narrow the
mind, and, what is sadder, to narrow the heart, all agencies
are precious which enlarge the view while augmenting the
strength of the soul. The late Lord Ashburton made a most
laudable effort to teach the people the wise use of Common
Things. But it should be borne in mind, that important as the
wise use of Common Things may be to the people, there are
things uncommon to which he who is both a gentleman and
a scholar should aspire. Worshipping the Ideal, the servant
and the soldier of what is true, and beautiful, and good, he
must be satisfied to be ignorant of much which the rude
mechanic or t}ie unlettered artizan knows.

The Birkbeck Schools, or other secular Schools for the
people, cannot be models for Eton, or Harrow, or Winchester,
or Shrewsbury, or Rugby to follow. Granting then that it
may be right to unveil to the pupils in the Schools for the
People, the mysteries of Human Physiology, or to convince
them that the harsh dogmas of Social and Political Economy
are the highest and surest law, it may still be advisable to

xl IrUrodudion.

debar the youths at the great Public Schools from all but
the most transient perception of such subjects. On the other
hand, while nothing of Human Physiology but the faintest
outline, and nothing of Political Economy but that which
operates to correct antiquated errors, should be offered as
intellectual nutriment to the pupils of the great English
Schools, Natural History should be presented incessantly and
abundantly, though always as a recreation rather than as a
study.

As the supreme work of education is to arm and aid the
human being in his march to perfection, there should be at
these higher Schools systematic Ethical teaching. Man's
r ' whole life, it has often been observed, is an education. The
instruction, the discipline, the culture which the youth receives
at the Public School are parts only, and not even the prin-
cipal parts, of an educational process, which extends from the
cradle to the grave. Every individual is, in the main, his
own destiny; his fate is determined by his character. Next
in influence are the circumstances by which he is surrounded ;
next to these, the principles which his parents or others
implant in his heart and conscience. Education, as the very
word implies, is a drawing forth, a development of innate
faculties. To implant, or try to implant, principles without
regard to the conquering contact of immediate and perennial
circumstances, or to create the most favourable cirumstances,
yet overlook the distinctive individuality of him whom we
are striving to educate, is to violate the cardinal and luminous
law of all true Education. If herein the parent frequently
errs, the Schoolmaster errs more frequently and seriously stilL
By Education many parents understand only a sort of painful
and perpetual compression ; and there are few Schoolmasters
who do not join to this compression of the home, an oppres-
sive and suppressive power of their own ; trusting more to a

IfUroduction. xli

pedantic dogmadsm, to a monstrous tenorism, than to diviner
instrumentalities.

Let, then, these three agencies — ^the individuality of the
child) the circumstances which form his moral atmosphere, and
the principles which we inculcate— co-operate according to
their respective worth.

A great Public School is a small commonwealth. Its
rulers should therefore, without delay, try to discover' that for
which each child, as a member of the commonwealth is, by
his individuality, fit ; and having placed him in the pure and
bracing moral atmosphere best adapted to his individuality, they
should instruct him in those moral doctrines which can never
by themselves be motives, but which may be guides. In
addressmg the young on Human Duties, we should employ,
partly a poetical, partly a picturesque style, and crowd our
appeals with illustrations drawn from the career of famous
men ; and signally those of England, so that patriotism may
intertwine with heroic admiration. Tenderness, truthfulness,
sincerity, and valour, should be strenuously urged.

Every age of the world has its own peculiar sins and weak-
nesses, a fact of great moment where the moral education of
the young is concerned. The present age is busy in removing
many of the more obvious social evils, — assuredly a meritorious
labour, — ^but the more robust virtues, as weU as the more
generous sympathies, have meanwhile decayed. There is a
cant of sentimentalism, there is a cant of philanthropy, but
there is no boundless and celestial mercy ; and there is a cant
of tolerance, but there is no undaimted combat for truth. We
have outgrown most of the barbarities of the past, but we
have outgrown likewise some of the noblest qualifications of
barbarians.

Those who are the honest and enlightened fiiends, as dis-
tinguished from the unscrupulous defenders of our great Schools,

\

\

xlii Introduction,

should at once in the name of morality, decency, and common
sense, wish and labour for the removal of their chief blemishes.
Flogging and Fagging. Of the first it is impossible to speak
without disgust Whether corporal punishment of all kinds
should be discontinued in Public Schools is one matter,
whether the indecent spectacle of flogging with the birch
should be abolished is a very diflferent matter. The abolition
of flogging has been efiected in many private Schools, and
with the best results. Why should it be retained in the Public
ones 1 If the nobler motives were more frequently appealed
to, little punishment of any kind would perhaps be needed.
It is impracticable, we know, to govern a School, as it is
impracticable to govern a people, by fine phrases and humani-
tarian maxims. Order must be maintained ; obedience must
be enforced, whatever the cost Will is wisdom when there is
no other wisdom ; and in a School the will of the Master must
be absolute. Despotism is better than anarchy. Severity is
not to be condemned when severity is unavoidable. But it
must be the fault of the teacher, and not of the taught, if
severity is frequently required. Control is easy when the
habit of self-control has been formed. He who rules his own
spirit must begin the self-guidance early. This self-govern-
ment and an elevated sense of honour could not fail to make
all but the very worst pupils docile and submissive ; and for
the thoroughly incorrigible, the punishment should be, not
brutal flogging, but inevitable expulsion. After three solemn
warnings, in the presence of the whole School, the har-
dened oflender should be expelled with infamy from a
scene which he has disgraced. It is nearly three hundred
years since Montaigne, before his age in many things, de-
nounced in his peculiarly piquant fashion the monstrosities
practised in the education of children j and on flogging
he poured his most eloquent scorn. More than a hun-

Introduction^ xliii

dred and fifty years ago Stede devoted one of his masterly
essays in the Spectator to an attack on Flogging and its allied
abominations. As a mere literary production, the paper is
one of the ablest in the English language.^ Smollett, the

' "I must confess I have very often, with much sorrow, bewailed the
misfortune of the children of Great Britain, when I consider the igno-
rance and undisceming of the generality of schoolmasters. The boasted
liberty we talk of is but a mean reward for the long servitude, the many
heart-aches and terrors, to which our childhood is exposed in going through
a Grammar School. Many of these stupid tyrants exercise their cruelty
without any manner of distinction of the capacities of children, or the
intention of parents in their behalf. There are many excellent tempers
which are worthy to be nourished and cultivated with all possible diligence
and care, that were never designed to be acquainted with Aristotle, TuUy,
or Virgil ; and there are as many who have capacities for understanding
every word those great persons have writ, and yet were not bom to have
any relish of their writings,

*' For want of this common and obvious discerning in those who have
the care of youth, we have so many hundred unaccountable creatures every
age whipped up into great scholars, that are for ever near a right under-
standing, and will never arrive at it. These are the scandal of letters, and
these are generally the men who are to teach others. The sense of shame
and honour is enough to keep the world itself in order without corporal
punishment, much more to train the minds of uncomipted and innocent
children. It happens, I doubt not, more than once in a year, that a lad
is chastised for a blockhead, when it is good apprehension that makes him
incapable of knowing what his teacher means. A brisk imagination very
often may suggest an error, which a lad could not have fallen into, if he
had been as heavy in conjecturing as his master in explaining. But there
is no mercy even towards a wrong interpretation of his meaning : the
sufferings of the scholar^s body are to rectify the mistakes of his mind.

'* I am confident that no boy, who will not be allured to letters without
blows, will ever be brought to anything with them. A great or good mind
must necessarily be the worse for such indignities, and it is a sad change
to lose of its virtue for the improvement of its knowledge. No one who has
gone through what they call a great school, but must remember to have
seen children of excellent and ingenuous natures, as has afterward appeared
in their manhood — I say no man who has passed through this way of educa-
tion but must have seen an ingenuous creature, expiring with shame, with pale
looks, beseeching sorrow, and silent tears, throw up its honest eyes, and
kneel on its tender knees to an inexorable blockhead to be forgiven the
false quantity of a word in making a Latin verse. The child is punished,
and the next day he commits a like crime, and so a third with the same

d 2 consequence.

xliv Introduction,

brilliancy of whose genius was not more conspicuous than the
generosity of his character, has strongly reprobated flogging,
both in Roderick Random and in Peregrine Pickle, Again and
again, in treatises on Education, and in periodicals, it has been
condemned ; but from dread lest England should be ruined,
lest ancient traditions and old world customs should perish,
the administrators of Public Schools as passionately fight for
flogging, as if it were a kind of sacrament, to be added to the
other seven.

Of Fagging, it is true that enlightened men like Dr. Arnold

consequence. I would fain ask any reasonable man whether this lad,
in the simplicity of his native innocence, full of shame, and capable of any
impression from that grace of soul, was not fitter for any purpose in this
life, than after that spark of virtue is extinguished in him, though he is
able to write twenty verses in an evening ? . • .

"It is wholly to this dreadful practice that we may attribute a certain
hardiness and ferocity which some men, though liberally educated, carry
about them in all their behaviour. To be bred like a gentleman, and
.punished like a malefactor, must, as we see it does, produce that illiberal
sauciness which we see sometimes in men of letters. . . .

"It is, methinks, a very melancholy consideration, that a little negli-
gence can spoil us, but great industry is necessary to improve us ; the most
excellent natures are soon depredated, but evil tempers are long before
they are exalted into good habits. To help this by punishments, is the
same thing as killing a man to cure him of a distemper. When he comes
to suffer punishment in that one circumstance, he is brought below the
existence of a rational creature, and is in the state of a brute that moves
only by the admonition of stripes. But since this custom of educating by
the lash is suffered by the gentry of Great Britain, I would prevail only
that honest, heavy lads may be dismissed from slavery sooner than they
are at present, and not whipped on to their fourteenth or fifteenth year,
whether they expect any progress from them or not. Let the child's
capacity be forthwith examined, and he sent to some mechanic way of life,
without respect to his birth, if nature designed him for nothing higher:
let him go before he has innocently suffered and is debased into a derelic-
tion of mind, for being what it is no guilt to be— a plain man. I would
not here be supposed to have said, that our learned men of either robe,
who have been whipped at school, are not still men of noble and liberal
minds ; but I am sure they would have been much more so than they
are, had they never suffered that infamy."

Introduction. xlv

have been the advocates, but surely rather from the effect of
early habit and opinion than from calm reflection. The fruits
of fagging are likely to be the most savage, most capricious
bullying on the one hand, and the most craven apprehension
on the other. We have daily proof that the best of men become
tyrannical if trusted with irresponsible authority. Are we to
believe that boys of sixteen or eighteen can defy temptations
which to men of mature years are irresistible 1 It is well known
that CowQer*s melancholy and madness may be traced to the
cruelties he suffered at the hands of his schoolfellows; and
Southey, and still greater writers than he, have dwelt on the
anguish, and insults, and humiliating labours heaped on poor
children by tyrants sometimes no older than themselves.

It is to be lamented that the members of the Public Schools'
Commission should have abstained from out-spoken denun-
ciation of this monstrous anachronism. But fagging is intrin-
sically so absurd and execrable, so opposed to the entire
scheme of an exalted education — ^an education for the gentle-
men, the peers, and the prelates of England — that the most
zealous and unscrupulous, and the most delicate and diplo-
matic defence of it will be unavailing to uphold it much longer.

After the fullest discussion in the press we may expect the
fullest discussion in Parliament of the reforms required in our
great Public Schools. To such reforms we need not anticipate
any factious opposition. There are themes too sacred for the
strife of politicians, and this before us is surely one of them.
What is wanted in these institutions is less that we should give
them new life and new organization, than that we should aid
them in their own development

Too much legislation often hinders growth and it may be
well, therefore, that the great Publid Schools should be allowed
in the main to be their own redeemers. But they must never
be permitted to sink back into their ancient lethargy. When

xlvi Introduction.

tenderly dealt with, they should not considei* their errors con-
doned; rather let them through contrition be more progressive
the more forbearance and reverence they encounter.

To those, and they are numerous, who think the defects of
these ancient institutions are such as disentitle them to the
tenderness and respect here claimed for them, we recommend
the wise and temperate and eloquent passage in which the late
Commission winds up its exhaustive Report : — " Among the
services which they (the Public Schools) have rendered is
undoubtedly to be reckoned the maintenance of classical
literature as the staple of English education, a service which
far outweighs the error of having clung to these studies too
exclusively. A second, and a greater still, is the creation of a
system of government and discipline for boys, the excellence
of which has been universally recognised, and which is admitted
to have been most important in its effects on national character
and social life. It is not easy to estimate the degree in which
the English people are indebted to these schools for the qua-
lities on which they pique themselves most — for their capacity
to govern others and control themselves, their aptitude for
combining freedom with order, their public spirit, their vigour
and manliness of character, their strong but not slavish respect
for public opinion, their love of healthy sports and exercise*
These schools have been the chief nurseries of our statesmen ;
in them, and in schools modelled after them, men of all the
various classes that make up English society, destined for every
profession and career, have been brought up on a footing of
social equality, and have contracted the most enduring friend-
ships, and some of the ruling habits of their lives ; and they
have had perhaps the largest share in moulding the character
of an English gentleman. The system, like other systems, has
had its blots and imperfections ; there have been times when
it was at once too lax and too severe — severe in its punish-

Introduction. xlvii

mentSy but lax in superintendence and prevention; it has
permitted, if not encouraged, some roughness, tyranny, and
licence ; but these defects have not seriously marred its whole-
some operation, and it appears to have gradually purged itself
from them in a remarkable degree. Its growth, no doubt, is
largely due to those very qualities in our national character
which it has itself contributed to form ; but justice bids us add
that it is due likewise to the wise munificence which founded
the institutions under whose shelter it has been enabled to
take root, and to the good sense, temper, and ability of the
men by whom during successive generations they have been
governed."

Recofkmendaiitms of the Commissioners, xlix

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS OF HER MAJESTY'S

COMMISSIONERS,

Appointed to Inquire into the Revenues and Management of

certain Colleges and Schools.

Summary of General Recommendations,

I. The Governing Bodies of the several Colleges and Schools
should be reformed, so far as niay be necessary, in order to render
them thoroughly suitable and efficient for the purposes and duties
which they are designed to fulfiL

II. The subsisting statutes and laws of the several Colleges and
Schools, by which they respectively are, or legally ought to be
governed, should be carefully revised under competent authority ;
rules and obligations which it is inexpedient to retain should be
abrogated ; new regulations should be introduced where they are
required ; and the Governing Body of each College and School
should be empowered, where they do not already possess the power,
to amend its statutes from time to time. The approval of some
superior authority, such as the Queen in Council or the Visitor
may be required where the character of the foundation renders this
desirable.

III. The Governing Body of each College and School should
have the general management of the property and endowments of
the College or School. They should have the appointment and
dismissal of the Head Master, and should retain, where they now
possess them, the same powers in respect of the second Master.
They should be authorized to make general regulations for the
government and administration of the whole School, including both
foundation boys and boys not on the foundation, except in matters
specially reserved to the Head Master. They should be especially

1 Recommendations of the Commissioners.

empowered and charged to make such regulations as may from time
to time be required on the following subjects : —

a. The terms of admission and the number of the School :

b. The general treatment of the foundation boys:

c. Boarding-houses ; the rates of charge for boarding, the con-

ditions on which leave to keep a boarding-house should be
g^ven, and any other matters which may appear to need regu-
lation under this head :

d. Fees and charges of all kinds, and the application of the

money to be derived from these sources :

e. Attendance at divine service ; chapel services and sermons,

where the School possesses a chapel of its own :

f. The sanitary condition of the School, and of all places connected

with it :

g. The times and length of the holidays :

h. The introduction of new branches of study, and the suppres-
sion of old ones, and the relative importance to be assigned
to each branch of study.
It should be incumbent, however, on the Governing Body, before
making regulations upon any of these subjects, or upon any subject
affecting the management or instruction of the School, not only to
consider attentively any representations which the Head Master
may address to them, but to consult him in such a manner as to
give ample opportunity for the expression of his views*

IV. The Governing Body should hold stated general meetings,
one at least half-yearly, and special meetings when required. Pro-
vision should be made for summoning special meetings. Sufficient
notice of every special meeting should be given to every member,
and a notice sent of all business to be transacted. Minutes should
be kept of the proceedings of every stated and special meeting. If
any member absents himself from three-fourths of all the meetings,
in any two successive years, his office should be deemed vacant and
his place filled up. The Governing Body should be empowered to
defray out of the School funds the expenses of the meetings, in-
cluding the travelling expenses of the Governors attending them.

V. The Head Master should have the uncontrolled power of select-
'v^ ing and dismissing Assistant Masters; of regulating the arrangement

of the School in classes or divisions, the hours of School work, and
the holidays and half-holidays during the School time ; of appointing
and changing the books and editions of books to be used in the
School, and the course and methods of study (subject to all regu-
lations made by the Governing Body as to the introduction, sup-

^^^^^t^m^^^m^f^^f^

Xecommendaiions of the Commissioners. li

pression, or relative weight of studies) ; of maintaining discipline,
prescribing bounds, and laying down other rules for the government
of the boys ; of administering punishment, and of expulsion.

VI. The Assistant Masters, or a selected number of them repre-
senting the whole body, should meet on fixed days, not less often
than once a month, under the title of a School Council, to consider
and discuss any matter which may be brought before them by the
Head Master or any member of the Council concerning the teaching
or discipline of the School The Head Master should preside, if
present The Council should be entitled to advise the Head Master,
but not to bind or control him in any way, and should have the
right of addressing the Governing Body whenever a majority of the
whole council may think fit. When the Council does not embrace
the whole body of the assistants, the classical and the mathematical
masters and the teachers of modem languages and natural science
respectively should be duly represented in it

VII. Jn the selection of the Head Master and of the other masters
the field of choice should in no case be confined, either by rule or
by usage equivalent t9 a rule, to person^ educated at the School.

VI I I. The classical languages and literature should continue to /
hold the principal place in the course a[ study.

IX. In addition to the study of the classics and to religious
teaching, every boy who passes through the School should receive
instruction in arithmetic and mathematics ; in one modem language
at least, which should be either French or German ; in some one
branch at least of natural science, and in either drawing or music.
Care should also be taken to ensure that Ihe boys acquire a good
general knowledge of geography and of ancient history, some
acquaintance with modem history, and a conunand of pure gram-
matical English.

X. The ordinary arithmetical and mathematical course should
include arithmetic so taught as to make every boy thoroughly
familiar with it, and the elements of geometry, algebra, and plane
trigonometry. In the case of the more advanced students it is
desirable that the course should comprise also an introduction to
applied mathematics, and especially to the elements of mechanics.

XI. The teaching of natural science should, wherever it is prac-
ticable, include two main branches, the one comprising chemistry
and physics, the other comparative physiology and natural history,
both animal and vegetable. A scheme for regulating the teaching
of this subject should be framed by the Governing Body.

XII. The teaching of classics, mathematics, and divinity should

Hi Recommendations of the Commissioners,

continue during the whole time that each boy stays at School (sub-
ject to Recommendation XIII). The study of modern languages
and that of natural science should continue respectively during the
whole or a substantial part of the time, and the study of drawing or
music should continue during a substantial part, at least, of the
time.

XIII. Arrangements should be made for allowing boys, after
/ arriving at a certain place in the School, and upon the request of
I their parents or guardians, to drop some portion of their classical
I work (for example, Latin verse and Greek composition), in order to
I devote more time to mathematics, modern languages, or natural
I science ; or, on the other hand, to discontinue wholly or in part
1 natural science, modem languages, or mathematics, in order to give
I more time to classics or some other study. Care should be taken

to prevent this privilege from being abused as a cover for idleness ;
and the Governing Body, in communication with the Head Master,
should frame such regulations as may afford a sufficient safeguard
in this respect. The permission to discontinue any portion of the
School work should in each case rest with the Head Master, who,
before exercising his discretion, should consult the bo/s tutor (if he
has one) and the Master who has given him instruction in the study
which he purposes to discontinue, should satisfy himself of the pro-
priety of either granting or refusing the application, and in the latter
case should, personally or through the tutor, communicate his
reasons to the parents.

XIV. Every part of the course of study above described should
have assigned to it a due proportion of the whole time given to
study.

XV. Every part of the course should be promoted by an effective
system of reward and punishment. When impositions in writing
are set, they should be required to be fairly written, and their length
should be regulated with a view to this requirement

XVI. The promotion of the boys from one classical form to
another, and the places assigned to them in such promotion, should
depend upon their progress not only in classics and divinity, but also
in arithmetic and mathematics, and likewise, in the case of those
boys who are studying modem languages or natural science, on their
progress in those subjects respectively.

XVII. The Governing Body, in communication with the Head
M^LSter (Recom. III.)) should settle a scale of marks for this purpose;
and the scale should be so framed as to give substantial weight and
encouragement to the non-classical studies.

Recommendations of the Commissioners. liii

XVIII. Ancient history and geography should be taught in con-
nexion with the classical teaching, and also in lessons apart from it,
but in combination with each other. They should enter into the
periodical examinations, and contribute to promotion in the classical
forms. Prizes should be given for essays in English on subjects
taken from modem history. On the manner and degree in which
modem history should be taught, we refrain, as we have said above,
from attempting to lay down any general rule.

XIX. For instruction in arithmetic and mathematics, in modem
languages, and in natural science respectively, the School should
be re-distributed into a series of classes or divisions wholly inde-
pendent of the classical forms ; and boys should be promoted from
division to division in each subject, according to their progress in
that subject, irrespectively of their progress in any other.

XX. The School list issued periodically should contain the names
of all boys separately arranged in the order of their merit and place
in the classical school, and also once at least in the year, separately
arranged in order of their merit and place in the several schools of
mathematics, modern languages, and natural science respectively.

XXI. In order to encourage industry in those branches of study
in which promotion from division to division is rewarded by no
School privileges, and confers less distinction than is gained by
promotion in the classical School, it is desirable that prizes and
distinctions be conferred periodically, —

First, for eminently rapid and well sustained progress through
the divisions in the several Schools of mathematics, modem lan-
guages, and natural science respectively :

Secondly, for the greatest proficiency in mathematics, modem
languages, and natural science respectively {i.e, for the highest place
in the divisions of these Schools), in proportion to age.

XXII. Special prizes should be given for proficiency in music
and drawing, but these studies should not be taken into account in
determining the places of the boys in the School

XXIII. Every boy should be required, before admission to the
School, to pass an entrance examination, and to show himself well
grounded for his age in classics and arithmetic, and in the elements
of either French or Geraian. It appears generally advisable that
the examination in each subject should be conducted by one of the
masters ordinarily teaching that subject.

XXIV. In Schools where seniority or length of time during
which a boy has remained in a particular form or part of the School
has been considered a ground for promotion, no boy should be

f

liv Recommendations of the Commissioners,

promoted on that ground unless he has passed such an examination
in the work of the form into which he is to be promoted as proves
that he is really fit to enter that form.

XXV. No boy should be suffered to remain in the School who
fails to make reasonable progress in it. For this purpose certain
stages of progress should be fixed by reference to the forms into
which the School is divided. A maximum age should be fixed for
attaining each stage; and any boy who exceeds this maximum
without reaching the corresponding stage of promotion should be
removed from the School. A relaxation of this rule, to a certain
extent, might be allowed in cases where it clearly appeared that
the bo/s failure to obtain promotion was due to his deficiency in
one particular subject, whilst his marks in other subjects would
have counterbalanced that deficiency had the system of promotion
permitted it.

XXVI. The charges made to parents and the stipends and emolu-
ments of the masters should be revised, with a view to put both on
a more simple and equitable footing.

XXVII. The charge for instruction should be treated as distinct
from the charges for boarding and for domestic superintendence. It
should cover instruction in every subject which forms part of the
regular course of study, and tutorial instruction, where all the boys
receive it alike, as well as instruction in School. This charge
should be uniform for all boys who are not on the foundation. For
the instruction of every boy on the foundation, a sum should be
paid out of the revenues of the foundation when they admit of it,
and this payment should supersede all statutory or customary-
stipends and other emoluments now received by any of the masters
from that source.

XXVIII. The aggregate amount of the charges and pajnnents
for instruction should be considered as forming a fund which should
be at the disposal of the Governing Body, and out of which stipends
should be assigned to the Head Master and other masters, accord-
ing to a scheme to be framed by the Governing Body. These
stipends might be fixed, or fluctuating with the numbers of the
School, or with the number of each tutor*s pupils, as to the Govern-
ing Body might seem best in each case ; and, in fixing them, the
profits to be derived from boarding should be taken into account,
in the case of Masters having boarding-houses. A small graduated
payment or tax might also be imposed upon Masters having board-
ing-houses, should this appear just and expedient to the Governing
Body. Permission to keep a boarding-house should in future be

Recommendations of the Commissioners. Iv

given to Masters only. Leaving fees should be abolished. Entrance
fees, if retained, should be added to the instruction fund. It appears
desirable that a reserve fund for building, for the establishment of
prizes or exhibitions, and for other objects useful to the School
should be formed wherever this may conveniently be done in the
judgment of the Governing Body. In introducing this system the
Governing Body would, of course, have due regard to vested interests,
and would have regard also to such considerations of convenience
as might properly modify or defer the application of it to any
particular School.

XXIX. The working of the monitorial system, where it exists,
should be watched, and boys who may deem themselves aggrieved
by any abuse of it should be able at all times to appeal freely to the
Head Master. The power of punishment, when entrusted to boys,
should be carefully guarded.

XXX. The system of fagging should be likewise watched. Fags
should be relieved from all services which may be more properly
performed by servants ; and care should be taken that neither the
time which a little boy has for preparing his lessons, nor the time )
which he has for play, should be encroached upon unduly. J

XXXI. It is desirable that the Governing Bodies should, after "
communication with each other, endeavour to make the holiday
times at their respective schools coincide as far as possible, so as to
enable school-boys who are members of the same family, but at
different schools, to be at home for their holidays together.

XXXII. The Head Master should be required to make an annual
report to the Governors on the state of the School, and this report
shotdd be printed. It is desirable that tabular returns for the
year, substantially resembling those with which we have been fur-
nished by the Schools, should accompany or form part of the report.

Conclusion.

We have dwelt, in the foregoing sections, on such points as after
careful examination we deem to require amendment or to call for
remark—

1. In the external government (so to speak) of these Schools,
taken collectively, that is, in the constitution of their Governing
Bodies, and the relation which the latter hold to the Head Masters
and the Schools :

2. In their internal government, the relation of the Head Master
to his assistants, and that of the foundation scholars to the rest of
the School :

lyi Recommmdations of the Commissumers.

3. In their course of study, which appears to us sound and
valuable in its main elements, but wanting in breadth and flexibility,
— defects which, in our judgment, destroy in many cases, and im-
pair in all, its value as an education of the mind ; and which are
made more prominent at the present time by the extension of know-
ledge in various directions^ and by the multiplied requirements of
modem life :

4. In their organization and teaching, regarded not as to its
range, but as to its force and efficacy. We have been unable to
resist the conclusion that these Schools, in very different degrees,
are too indulgent to idleness, or struggle ineffectually with it, and
that they consequently send out a large proportion of men of idle
habits and empty and uncultivated minds :

5. In their discipline and moral training, of which we have been
able to speak in terms of high praise.

THE GREAT

SCHOOLS OF ENGLAND.

ETON. ^

'•*FLORKAT ETONA."

CHAPTER I.-HISTORICAL.

A PRIME glory of English institutions is their historical ^r^5/r^.
They are the products of Time and of Nature, not of arbitrary
dogmatism or of temporary caprice. Hence, in addition to
their stability, the poetic halo that surrounds them. This
poetry it would be unwise to disturb for any supposed utili-
tarian advantages. A nation is great, not so long as it wields
a vast material machinery, but so long as it is heroic ; and ^/
in a nation's development and fate, the heroic and the poetic
are identical Shakespeare has been more than the pride and
the delight of the English people : he has, while the most
catholic of poets, nourished heroic emotions and aspirings.
And it is our poets who have kept alive that public spirit
for which England, above all other countries, is distinguished.
Eton College is eminently a poetical institution. Founded
\fY the most pious but most unfortunate of English monarchs, • '^
at a moment when the Middle Ages were beginning to exhaust
their peculiar force, this College, like that of Winchester, haS
pever lost its mediaeval and monastic aspect. The creation of

B

\

a The Great Schools of En^nd.

a monarch, it has been fostered by monarchic associations,
and as long as the mighty neighbouring castle stands, Eton has
the assurance that her own glory will not perish ; that she will
continue to be the nursing mother of the future temporal and
spiritual rulers of England ; of statesmen, of warriors, of
divines, of scholars, and of poets.

\

"There is no feature in her fair domain

Which of decay or change displays a trace ;

No charm of hers but doth undimm'd/ remain*
/ Eton 1 my boyhood's blest abiding-place,
, The old expression lingers on thy face ;
' The spirit of past days unquench*d is there,
) While all things else are changed and changing everywhere."

Moultrie.

Menaced and perturbed for a brief space by the Wars of the
Roses, Eton College gained strength from transient disaster,
and her career for nearly four hundred years has been one of
uniform prosperity. The Reformation, the Stuart civil wars,
the Revolution which overthrew a dynasty, foreign dangers
and domestic troubles, have hardly for a moment stirred her
cloistered calm. Eton through all pursued her peaceful course,
and the Thames which flows past her walls, and bears the com-
merce of the world upon its bosom, is the symbol of her march
and majesty.

This famous College is seated in the county of Bucks^ where

it is separated from Windsor, in Berkshire, by the river Thames.

q It was founded by Henry VI. in 1440, under the name of the

/ J » U " Blessid Marie of Etone beside W)aidesore," though the first

• H^i^ charter of foundation was not signed till the autumn of the

'i^'^ ' next year. One of the earliest formal acts of Henry in con^

nexion with his proposed establishment appears to have been a
procuratory for the purchase of Eton pariah church for collegiate
purposes. This instrument is dated Sept 12, 1440, though the
^> appropriation was not fully effected until 1443. In the mean-
time, however, the old College quadrangle was erected, and on
the 2 1 St of December in the latter year Henry sent down
his commissioners to give solemn admission to the Provost^

Eton. J

FellowSy Clerks^ and Scholars into the building. On May
4, 1444, the several grants made by the king's letters patent to
his College were incorporated in an Act of Parliament, and the
statutes, being completed, were with due formality accepted by
the Visitors, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Bishop,
Dean, and Chapter of Lincoln. In the compilation of these
statutes the Founder is said to have been assisted by the ablest
dvilian of the time, William Lyndewood, LL.D. Lord Privy
Seal and Bishop of St David's. The more probable opinion,
however, is that they were drawn up by Wa3mflete, then Master
of Winchester School, and their approximation to the Win-^
Chester code, and the king's frequent visits at the time to
Winchester, lead to the supposition that he desired to establish
Eton upon the model of the older institution. That he de-^
signed it to be a seminary for a College in one of the Univer* '
sities, is shown by his founding, at the same time. King's
College, Cambridge, whither, as Lambarde the antiquary ob-
serves, '' £ton sendeth annually her ripe fruit" To afford his/
new School the best advantage, Henry removed Waynflete from
Winchester, where he had fulfilled his trust for many years with
admirable diligence, ability, and judgment, and made him
Master of Eton. Not long afterwards, Waynflete was appointed
Provost, and subsequently, through Henry's strenuous patronage,
he was elevated to the See of Winchester, in which dignified
position he was enabled to emulate the benevolent munificence
of his predecessor, William of Wykeham, by founding Magda- l/^'
Icn College, Oxford.

Waynflete appears to have entertained a grateful sense of his
obligations to Eton College even while engaged in the erection
of his own foundation, for Leland records that '' a good part
of the buildings of Eton College accrued by means and at the
expense of Waynflete, for he was a great favourer of the work
begun by Henry VI., but left very imperfect and rawly."
During tiie civil war between the rival Actions of York and
Lancaster the completion of Eton College proceeded but
tardily ; and the accession of Edward IV. threatened at one
period to prove the ruin of the Institution, This . monarch 13

B a

4 The Great Schools of En^and,

represented to have been ill-disposed to Waynflete and other
attached friends of Henry; and to have. regarded with great
jealousy the establishments endowed by the piety and munifi-
cence of his predecessor. That on coming to the throne he
not only curtailed the endowments of King's College, Cam-
bridge, and the Collie of Eton, but deprived those foundations
of movables of considerable value, has never been denied. He
represented to Pope Pius II. that Eton College was unfinished,
and urged the propriety of uniting it to the College of Windsor,
an establishment which he warmly protected. In consequence
of these representations, he obtained a Bull from the Pope in
X463, for dissolving Eton College and incorporating it with
that of Windsor. Fortunately for the threatened foundation,
it possessed in William Westbuiy, who had succeeded Wayn-
flete as Provost in 1447, an able, ardent, and uncompromising
advocate. Remarkable alike for prudence and for courage,
Westbuiy at once refused to acquiesce in the union of the
Colleges, and boldly defended the rights and privileges of the
body over which he had for many years presided. He entered
a public protest in person against the incorporation projected,
and so effective were his intrepidity and eloquence, that the
king applied to Pope Paul II., the successor of Pius II., to
annul .the measures he had before solicited. By command of
the Pope, the heads of the two Colleges were summoned before
the Archbishop of Canterbury, when the Provost, who abated
no jot of his zeal for the institution of his patron, harangued
with such undaunted firmness for the rights of the imprisoned
founder, that in due time the dissolution of the Bulla Unionis
was sent from Rome. Shortly afterwards the king, by letters
patent, among other acts of compensation to the injured Col-
lege, gave to it, in free, pure, and perpetual alms, the Prioiy of
Ponnington, in Dorset, with the lands, tenements, &a belong-
ing thereto, with the proviso that, from the revenues of the same,
five students, educated at the School of Eton, should be main-
tained at Oxford.

! On the union of the houses of York and Lancaster, under
Henry VIL| who was in childhood the protegi of the Royal

Eton4 ^

Founder, the condition of the College was materially improved.
By an Act of Parliament, in the fourth year of his reign, this
sovereign confirmed the foundation in its charters and privileges^.
He restored also some of the estates of which it had been
despoiled, and granted licences to divers persons to enable
them to give or bequeath their lands for the enrichment of the
College unfettered by the Act of Mortmain.

His successor, Hcnj;^ VTII., though himself learned, and, as
a general rule, the patron of men of letters, cast a rapacious
eye upon the young and flourishing society. In 1545, not
long before his death, Royal Commissioners were sent >
down to Eton, and had even drawn up an inventory of the
revenues they were about to confiscate, when the king's death
intervened, and the College was rescued fipom spoliation. It
was a narrow escape, and was so considered by the authorities
of the School; one of whom, in melancholy anticipation of the
s^proaching ruin, had, a day or two before their deliverance,
inscribed upon the survey — ^^Fuit Ilium et ingens gloria Teu-
crorumr

This appears to have been the last of her perils. Eton
College has ever since continued to increase in wealth and
influence, and at the present day it is one of the richest
scholastic establishments in the world.

THE BUILDINGS.

The CoU^ate edifice consists of two quadrangles. The first
occupies a considerable space, and is adorned by a central
statue of the Royal Founder in bronze, a gift of Dr. Godolphin,
Provost in 1695. This square, or the "Schoolyard," as it is
more generally called, is enclosed by the Chapel, Schools,
Dormitories, Masters' Chambers^ Clock-tower, and " Election
Chamber."

The lesser quadrangle comprises the Cloisters, in which are
the residences of the Provost and Fellows, and the Libraiy,
which is reached by a flight of steps to the left of the entrance

4 The Great Schools of En^nd.

j6f the Cldistei^. Beyond the Cloisters are the College gardens,
and beyond the latter, through Weston's Yard, you come upon
the Pla3ring-fields, where on holiday evenings the cricketers of
the Upper Shooting-fields are wont to take their tea.

The Chapel, which occupies the south side of the larger
quadrangle, is a noble structure, and of beautiful proportions.
It was begun July 3, 1441, but the date of its completion is
uncertain. In 1700 it was repaired and altered considerably,
under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren, who thought
/ proper to introduce many inappropriate designs of Grecian
architecture, to disturb the ancient gravestones, and to conceal
several of the mural monuments behind new wainscoting and
an altarpiece. Sir Christopher^s adornments, however, are no
longer permitted to offend the eye and taste ; the interior of
the Chapel has lately undergone a complete restoration, at the
expense of the College and of " Etonians past and present,"
and all the unsightly high pews, stalls, and wainscoting have
been taken down. Upon entering by the ante-chapel we come
upon the last resting-place of Lord WellesleJnCnd of Sir Henry
Wotton, the latter one of the Provosts, and the author of the
famous saying which he desired to be inscribed upon his
tnonument as his only epitaph : — '' Hie jacet hujus sententiae
primus auctor, Disputandi pruritus ecciesiarum scabies. Nomen
alias quaere.** The roof, of open timber, is quite new. The
seats are all of dark oak, with well-cut poppy-head terminations :
and the stalls, richly carved, with canopies of costly and exqui-
site workmanship, have under each a brass plate recording the
name of the donor of the stall itself. In the chancel is a
tessellated pavement of great beauty, designed by Willement,
and above it the splendid east window, erected some years
ago, at an expense of near 3,000/., by '^ present Etonians."
The little west window was the gift of the Rev. Edward
Coleridge, a Fellow of Eton, and one of the most honoured
and successful tutors that the College ever possessed. The
other windows of stained glass on each side of the Chapel are
the donation of the Rev. John Wilder, one of the Fellows, and
a munificent contributor to the restoration, and of the Rev.

^

7

Eton. 7

W. A. Carter, Lower Master. In the ante-chapel are also
coloured glass windows of great beauty, which were erected to
the memoiy of Etonians who fell in the Crimea.

The Upper School was erected, shortly after the Restoration,
at the cost of Dr. Allestree, Provost of Eton, whose integrity
and disinterested zeal put a temporary stop to those extensive
peculations by which the governing members had long enriched
themselves at the expense of the general community ; it forms
the western face of the laiger quadrangle. The room is
capacious and finely proportioned, and has a handsome ele-
vated desk for the Head Master, seats less imposing for the
Lower Masters, and forms for the scholars. The Head Master,
however, usually takes his division in the room behind, which
contains the famous ''flogging-block," of painful memory.
Over the doorway of the Upper Schoolroom are busts of the
Queen and the Prince Consort ; on each side are likenesses ol
distinguished Etonians ; and the wainscoting all round is covered
with the names of those educated for centuries past in Eton
College.

The Lower School, on the north side of the same quadrangle,
is a room disproportionately long for its height, having a range
of ancient oak arches on each side, with seats for the boys
behind them. There is a tradition that it was the splendid
College stables of ancient days ; but the accepted account is
that Sir H. Wotton fitted it up with pillars, on which might be
painted pictures of classical authors for the instruction of the
students.

The College Library is of spacious dimensions, elegantly
fitted up, and furnished with an extensive and valuable col*
lection of books. It is rich in MSS. also, and in autographs
of distinguished persons who have visited Eton. Among its
numerous benefactors the most conspicuous are the Provost
Godolphin; Dr. Waddington, Bishop of Chichester ; Dr. Mead;
Richard Topham, Esq.; Sir T. Reeve ; and Anthony Storer^
Esq., who bequeathed to it the whole of his ctuious and priceless
collection of books.

In commemoration of these noble donations, the authoiities

8 The Great Schools of England.

of the College have caused the following ii^scription to be
placed in the centre compartment of the library : —

" Hos libros selectissimos cam amplissimft chartarum copid, Vir natalibus

/ pariter ac literis clarus Ricardus Topham Vindesorianus, magno suo sumptu

/ et studio comparavit, Moriensque Thomae Reeve Mihtis, et Ricardi Mead

*? ' Archiatri fidei oommisit, lit commodo publico inservirent : iidem viii pm^

^ stantissimi, testamenti illius non immexnores, tarn libros quam chartas

bujusce Bibliothecse inter KEIMHAIA esse voluenint A.D. MDCCXXXVi.''

And another^ in the third compartment, which is as follows : —

'' Libros hosce perel^iantes judicio suo subtili nee mediocri sumptu undi-
que conquisitos Antonius Morris Storer de Purley in agro Berkiensi
Armigr.

"Liberalium Artium Cultor egregius pueritise btc acts memor Coll^o
Etonensi. Pie et munifice legavit A.D. mdccxcix.

" Dona haec, subsidia literanim pulcherrima Nostrum erit grati com-
inemorare^ fideliter tueri.**

The HaU where the Collegers dine, and, with the exception
of the elder sixteen or seventeen, sup also, is of considerable
dimensions, and, until very recently, was very bare of ornament,
the only thing of the kind being a curious piece of antique
tapestry which was attached to the wainscoting at Election time«
This Hall has lately been restored in admirable style; the
windows above the High Table filled with stained glass, the
wainscoting removed, tessellated pavement laid down, &a
During the improvements a large fireplace, supposed to be
coeval with the foundation, was discovered beiiind the old
woodwork. On the north side, near the west end, there was
formerly to be seen the following memorial rudely engraved : —
^* Queen Elizabeth ad nos (!) gave, October lo, two loaves in a
mess '' (i.^. among each party of four), but it has been long
erased. The Queen at that time paid a visit to Eton, and was
complimented by a profusion of verses, which may be seen in
the Rawlinsonian Collection of MSS. at Oxford. Some seventy
years later the inimitable Pepys records a journey he made to
Windsor, and particularly mentions this Hall with its pendant
^ Bacchus^s *• or sctoUs of verses : — " But, Lord 1 the prospect

Eiotu 9

that is in the balcone in the Queen's lodgings, and the terrace
and the walk are strange things to consider, being the best in
the world sure. And so took coach and away to Eton. At
Eton I left my wife in the coach, and he" [William Child,
Mus. Doc, organist of St. George's Chapel] " and I to the Col-
lege, where .all mighty fine. The school good, and the custom
pretty of boys cutting their names in the shuts of the windows
when they go to Cambridge, by which many a one hath lived
to see himself a Provost and Fellow that hath his name in the
window standing. To the hall, and there find the boys' verses
de Peste^ it being the custom to make verses at Shrovetide. I
read several, and very good they were — better, I think, than
ever I made when a boy, and in rolls as long and longer than
the whole hall by much. Here is a picture of Venice hung up,
and a monument made of Sir H. Wotton giving it to the college.
Thence to the porter's, in the absence of the butler, and did
drink of the college beer, which is very good ; and into the
back fields to see the scholars play; and so to the chapel," &c.
Soon after, the late Rev. Francis Hodgson, R D. became
Provost, he determined to provide better accommodation for
the Collegers, who till then had slept in Long Chamber, Carter's
Chambers, and Lower Chamber, and occupied sitting-rooms
in the High-street of Eton. The New Buildings then erected,
allow a separate room to each of the elder fifty out of the
seventy boys, and were designed by Sir John Shaw, of Christ's
Hospital. The rest of the Collegers live in the upper half of
old Long Chamber, the other half being divided into studies
for them and rooms for four Upper boys, who are supposed
to look after them.

to Th< Great Schools of En^and^

CHAPTER II.
STATISTICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS.

I. Constitution of the College.

Eton College was originally founded by Henry VL but for
five-and-twenty scholars ; on its final settlement it consisted of
a Provost, i Head Master, i Lower Master or Usher, 70
Scholars, 10 Fellows, 10 Chaplains^ 10, Clerks, 16 Choristers,
and 13 Alms or Bedesmen. At present the constituent body
is formed of a Provost, 7 Fellows, a Head Master, a Lower
Master, 3 Conducts or Chaplains, 12 Choristers, 10 Lay Clerks,
70 Scholars, 10 Servants, and 10 Almswomen, who occupy the
place once held by the Bedesmen.

II. The Governing Body,

The Provost and Fellows constitute the administrative body
of Eton College, and exercise a great, an almost absolute,
authority over the institution.

The statutory qualifications of a Provost of Eton are, that
he must be, or must have been, a Fellow of Eton or of King's
College, Cambridge, must have been bom in England, must
be a Bachelor of Divinity or Doctor in Canon Law, and Master
of Arts, in Holy Orders, and not less than thirty years of age.^

The duties of the Provost are those ordinarily assigned to
the head of a collegiate foundation. He has the appointment
of all persons holding office in the College, except the Fellows,

' The Commissioners appointed by Her Majesty, in 1861, to inqture into
the Revenues and Management of certain Colleges and Schools, recommend,
in their admirable Report, that the choice for this distinguished office
should not be limited to men educated at Eton, or who are in Holy Orders.
In proof of the necessity of extending the field, they mention having been
informed that at the death of Provost Goodall, there were not more thaa
eight persons legally eligible for the appointment I

Etotk It

ftnd the Head and Lower Masters, who are elected by the
Provost and Fellows. He has to exercise a general superin*
tendence, and see that every Member of the College fulfils his
statutable obligations. He is bound to ascertain that the
College property is well administered, and the revenues duly
applied. He is £v (jficio Rector of the Parish of Eton ; but
is not instituted to the cure of souls within the parish, and
does not receive the emoluments of the Uving, which are paid
into the general funds of the College. He has the care of and
affixes the Seal of the College to all deeds, leases, &c. con-
nected with the establishment He must be present (unless
mevitably prevented by sickness or other lawful impediment)
at all College meetings on important business ; and he exer-
cises a control, both extensive and minute, over the general
management^

An office of such dignity and importance has naturally been
at all times highly coveted. Sir Thomas Wyat wittily besought
Henry VIH. to bestow the Prpvostship upon him, as a living
of loo/. a year more than enough; and no less a man than
Lord Chancellor Bacon, after his disgrace, petitioned James I.
for the same honourable preferment

The Fellows are elected by the Provost and Fellows. They
are usually Fellows of King's, or those who have been Fellows
of that College, and they must be of the degree of M.A. in
Priest's Orders. The practice for many years has been to elect
them from the Assistant Masters.

. The statutes of the College enact, that from the Fellows
there shall be aimually chosen : —

The Vice Provost j whose duty is to aid the Provost in the
superintendence of the church of the College and the church
of the parish, when required, and to take his place when illness
or other lawful hindrance obliges the Provost to be absent

The BursarSy who have the care of the muniments, deeds,
leases, &c., who receive the rents, and annually account for the
same at the audit

> Evidence befoiei the Royal CommiasionezVi Vol. iL p. io8.

1 i The Great Schools of England.

The Precentor^ who is responsible for the attendance and
general behaviour of the College choir.

The Sacristy who has charge of the chapel, the books, and
the plate of the altar.

Besides these special duties, the Fellows are required gene-
rally to act with the Provost in the management and improve-
ment of the College property, in the promotion of the interests
and welfare of the College, both moral and fiscal, and to render
assistance to the establishment by every means in their power.^

The power exercised or possessed by the governing body of
Eton College is, as we have said, very great Not only are the
studies, the discipline, the whole action of the institution en-
trusted to the autocratic supervision of the Provost and Fellows,
but those gentlemen have the entire administration of the Col*
lege funds. It has never been stated that the administrators
of this large property have intentionally proved unfaithful to
their trust, but there have undoubtedly been errors in their
stewardship which seem to demand immediate remedy. The
most prominent of these is the practice which has existed^
time out of mind, for the governing body to levy fines on the
granting or renewal of leases, and to distribute the amoimt
among themselves. How large a proportion of the actual
income of the College has thus been diverted from the pur-
poses to which that income should have been applied, may be
judged from the fact that no less a sum than 127,700/. has
been received in this way within twenty years, ending 1862.^
The emoluments of the Provostship now amount on an average

1 Evidence before the Royal Commissioners. Vol. ii. p. 108.

* The observations of the Commissioners upon this subject will meet with
general approval : —

** So long as the administiaton of the estates derive the chief part of their
income from fines, it must inevitably be their interest, and indeed necessary
to their support, that the estates should be administered in a way which is
not the best

" We are therefore of opinion that beneficial leases should be discontinued
as quickly as the means at the disposal of the College will permit, and in
the meantime we think it desirable that all fines to be received hereafter
should be brought into the accounts of the College."

'■ -y

^ ^ o '^^rci' - >^ 2 "^ ^

»

to 1,876/. a year ; thdse of a Fellowship to 851/. a year. But
this is exclusive of the lucrative ecclesiastical offices which
both Provost and Fellows are allowed to hold.

IIL The Head Master and Lower Master.

According to the statutes, the Head Master is required to
teach and watch over the conduct of the Scholars, Choristers,
and any others that shall come for a time to the Grammar
School to learn grammar. He is to make no claim upon the
Scholars, Choristers, and others, for instruction in grammar.
He is subject to the authority of the Provost, and may be
removed by the Provost and Fellows. Being thus amenable
by statute to the control of the Provost, he can make no ap-
pointment or alteration without his sanction.

At present, as will be seen in speaking of the School as
contradistinguished from the College, the management of the
whole scholastic arrangements is committed practically to the
Head Master, including the appointment and control of the
Assistant Masters. In him also, and the Lower Master, is
vested the power of corporal punishment

The Lower Master, by statute xiv., is ordered to be appointed
by the Provost and Fellows. He must be a Bachelor of Arts,
if such can conveniently be had, and not in Holy Orders. His
duties are to assist the Head Master, and to supply his place
in case of his absence. He is amenable to the authority of the
Provost and Head Master, and requires their sanction for the
appointment of his assistants, and for the introduction of any
dianges which he may deem desirable.^

The salary and emoluments of the Head Master and Lower
Master will be more conveniently shown in treating of the
School which has grown up around the original foundation.

TV. The Conducts or Chaplains^ and Choristers,

The daily duty of reading prayers in Chapel is divided
among three Conducts or Chaplains {Capellani conductitii)^

1 Evidence before the Royal Commissioners* VoL ii p. 108,

14 T^ Great Schools of En^mL

who act likewise as curates of the parish of Eton. They ard
appointed by the Ptx>vost, and each receives no/, a year.

The sixteen Choristers contemplated by the statutes were
placed, as regards board and lodging and the supply of clothing,
on the same footing as the Scholars. There are at present no
Choristers exclusively attached to Eton College. It maintains,
jointly with St Geoige^s Chapel, Windsor, a choir of twelve^
each of whom receives from Eton a gown, and an allowance of
[bread, meat, and beer, for commons ; they are taught reading,
fwriting, and music by a schoolmaster at Windsor, who is paid
20/. a year by Eton, and a further salary by the Windsor
Chapter.^

V. 77U Lay Clerh.

These officials receive 12/. a year each, with an allowance of
bread and beer, and an additional payment for attendance on
Sundays and other days*

/" VI. The Kif^s Scholars}

The Seventy King's Scholars, or Collegers, according to
the statutes, were intended to take precedence of all others
educated in the Grammar School; they were to be present
at religious services, to which only a limited number of the
other students were admitted; and were provided with every-
thing needful for them in education, food, lodging, and dress.

At this time, a Foundation Scholar is one who, after strict
examination, having been chosen impartially and solely by.
merit, receives from the College his education, food, and
lodging gratuitously, or nearly so.^

The King's Scholars axe elected by the Provost, Vice-Provost,
and Head Master of Eton, and the Provost and two Fellows
(appointed annually for the purpose) of King's College, Cam-

^ Report Vol I p. 64.

' The Collegers took the title of Xing*t Scholars by command of King
George the Third.
* Evidence, Vol. ii. p. 109^

Etofu 15

fandge. The statutable qualifications of these Scholars are,
that they be Pauperes et Indigentes^ apt for study, of good
morals, and competently skilled in reading plain-song and
grammar. No one is to be elected who has not completed his
eighth, or who has exceeded his twelfth year ; unless, being
under seventeen, he has made such progress that, in the judg-
ment of the electors, he can be made a sufficiently good
grammarian {^ Nisi judicio eligentium, in grammatics poterit
suffidenter expediri ") before completing his eighteenth year.
Preference is given to candidates bom on the College estates.
The possession of lands, tenements, or other property, worth
above five marks a year, incurable disease, or mutilation, which
would exclude from Holy Orders, or any defect arising fi*om
tiie candidate's act or fault, illegitimate birth, or birth out of
England, are disqualifications. The restriction of birth within
the realm of England has been removed of late years, and the
Commissioners wisely recommend that all local preferences
should be abolished; and that no boy should be deemed
disqualified on account of illegitimate birth or of bodily imper-
fection.

By the statutes each Scholar was allowed tenpence a week
for commons. A piece of cloth, of a prescribed price and
quantity, was to be delivered to him at Christmas, to provide
him a gown for holiday and ordinary wear during the ensuing
year ; and he was entitled to such supply of clothing, bedding,
and other personal necessaries, as should not exceed in value
the sum of 15 shillings.

Aldiough the seventy Collegeis are those for whom primarily
and primordially Eton College as an educational institution
exists, they do not appear until a recent period to have profited,
by the general development of the Foundation property. The )
advantages arising from the vastly augmented revenue were/ .
almost entirely monopolized by the Provost and Fellows.

The Scholars were lodged in one large chamber and three
smaller ones^ having only one male servant and a bed-maker
for about half the day to attend on them. There was no pro-
vision for their moral superintendence, and veiy little for their

%6 TAe Great Schools of England.

physical comfort No breakfast was found for them; the
dinners, consisting of mutton only, were partaken of without
enjoyment ; and the supper provided in hall at eight o'clock
was so insufficient, that all the boys above the ^' Remove "
were wont to send out for another supper for themselves. It
was usual for the boys to hire rooms in the town, where they
had breakfast and tea, and lodged during the day. Eveiy boy
paid a certain sum to a dame, who undertook to give him
a room when he was ill, to provide for his washing, and to
perform other little necessaiy services which he might require.
The expenses of a Colleger were thus not much less than those
of an Oppidan, although by the statutes he was entitled to
board, lodging, clothing, and education free of change.

A state of things so foreign to the intentions of the Founder,
and so injurious to the boys, prevented many parents from
sending their sons to the College ; and it has frequently hap-
pened that the actual number of Foundationers did not amount
to fifty.

Within the last twenty years there has been a great and
progressive improvement; it began under Provost Hodgson,
and has been continued by his successors. Forty-nine of the
seventy Collegers have now single rooms; the remaining
twenty-one were lodged, until 1861, in a large room under the
superintendence of a Conduct and three upper boys ; and each
has now a small dormitory partitioned off from the others.
There is an Assistant Master in College whose rooms com-
municate with those of the boys, who has the domestic control
of them, and who is responsible, in a great degree, for their
moral training. There are also a matron, and housekeeper,
and several attendants.

Bread, butter and milk are supplied for breakfast (tea and
sugar may be had at a fixed low charge), and a supper at nine
o'clock of cold meat, which, as at dinner, is generdly mutton.
The dinner consists of roast mutton five days in the week, and
of roast beef on the other two, with v^etables and beer, and
with suet-pudding and plum-pudding on alternate Sunda}rs, and
fruit tarts in summer.

Eton. 17

The food supplied is ample in quantity, but its monotony,
for which no satisfactory reason has been alleged, is said to be
very distasteful to the younger boys.^

Election of Scholars to Eton. — ^The Collegers were formerly
admitted by nomination; they are now admitted by competitive
examination. The change has had a most salutary effect ; it
has brought to Eton a number of able and industrious bo3rs,
and the King's Scholars have become, intellectually, the ilite
of the school*

EUaian to Scholarship at King^s. — ^A main design of the
Founder was to make Eton a nursery for King's College at
Cambridge, and the annual election of scholars to that college
is the most important event of the year to an Etonian. This
election takes place about the end of July or the beginning
of August, when twelve to twenty of the head boys are put on
the roll to succeed at King's as vacancies occur there, through
the ecclesiastical promotion, marriage, resignation, or death of
the Fellows. The vacancies, on an average, have been about
nine in two years. Formerly, a Colleger who succeeded to a
Scholarship at King's was invariably elected a Fellow at the
end of three years, before he took his degree. This Fellowship
he could retain until he married or was presented to one of the
lucrative livings in the gift of the College. Hence, to "get
King's," as it was technically called, was estimated as worth
3000/. because it was a siu'e provision for life. In 186 1, how*
ever, the Cambridge University Commissioners propounded
an ordinance for the future government of King's College, by
which Scholarships for a limited period were substituted for
Fellowships tenable for life.

Endowment and Revenue, — Eton College is possessed of
laige landed and other property, the receipts from which at the
present day amount to about 20,000/. per annum. The pro*
perty consists of manors, rectories, demesne lands, farms,
messuages, tenements, pensions, quit rents, and public funds,
a great part of which fiinds are held in trust for Exhibitions,
&C. The probable accession to this income which might be
» Report P. 66. > Evidence. Vol iii. p. 64.

C

\y^

i8 77ie Great Schools of England.

gained by running-out leases has been computed at 10,000/.
a year.

College Livings, — There are not less than forty ecclesiastical
• / benefices in the gift of the College. Of these, —

Four do not exceeed J^lOQ in value —

Eight are above 100 and not exceeding ;f 200

Nine ,, - 200 „ „ 300

Nine „ 300 »» ^» 4<»

Four „ 400 „ „ SCO

Two », 500 „ „ 600

One is ,, 600 „ „ 700

One „ '700 ,, ,, 800

One „ 800 „ „ 900

One „ 1,000 ,t „ 1,200.

The best of these livings are held by the governing body ;
the others they usually bestow on their relations or friends —
an arrangement which is condemned by those who would
reform the College; and, undoubtedly, it exalts private inte-
rests over those of the College and the community.

Expenditure, — ^The yearly expenditure, inclusive of expenses
of management, subscriptions and donations, and of the cus-
tomary payments to the Provost and Fellows, which form,
however, but a small part of their actual income, amounts on
an average to ,1^,770 odd pounds per annum.

We have seen that it has not been the practice of the
Provost and Fellows to bring the renewal fines into account,
or to consider them as portion of the College revenues, but to
divide them in certain shares among themselves. According
to their computation, therefore, the annual surplus would hardly
exceed 200/.*

Visitorial Authority, — ^According to the statutes, the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Lincoln, within whose
diocesan jurisdiction Eton was locally situated, are Joint Visitors
of the College. The place of the Bishop of Lincoln as Visitor
has recently been claimed by the Bishop of Oxford, the present
diocesan of Eton ; but as the practice of making periodical

. 1 Report P. 59-

V

'ssm^mFB^^ma^^mam^m^mm^SSmSBm

Eton. ig

visitations has for many years been abandoned, the question
between these dignitaries is not of serious interest to the Col-
lege. If at Eton and elsewhere visitorial authority is to
accomplish any substantial good, it should manifestly be vested
in the Minister of Education. The direct and incessant, though
not minute and vexatious, control of the Government is here
indispensable.

THE SCHOOU

The educational establishment of Eton, like those of Win:-
Chester, of Westminster, of the Charterhouse, and of other
English Free Schools, is composed of two classes — Founda-
tioners and Non-Foimdationers, The former, limited in number,
are separately lodged, separately boarded, maintained as well
as educated free of charge, or at a comparatively small expense,
and obtain, or have the opportunity of competing for, a further
provision, more or less valuable, when they quit the School.^
The latter, without legal restriction as to number, are accre*
tions upon the original Foundation, and consist of boarders
received by the Masters and other persons at their own expense
and for their own profit, or of pupils resident with their parents
in the neighbourhood, who pay the same terms for everything
but board, as the other Non-Foundationers.

In most cases these independent scholars, oi '* Oppidans,"
as they are called at Eton, far outnumber the Collegers.

The proportion subsisting between the two classes in the
chief Schools which admit both, is shown by the Report of the
Royal Commissioners to have been in 1862 as follows: —

Foundationers. Non-Foundationers.

Eton 70 770

Winchester 70 146

Westminster. .... 40 96

Harrow 32 449

Kugby 61 402

Shrewsbnry 26 114

Charterhouse .... 44 92

^ Report. P. 9.

C 2

20 The Great Schools of England.

That the Founders of some of these Schools contemplated
the probability that another class might resort to them besides
the one for which they were chiefly designed, there can be no
reasonable doubt While limiting the number of Foundation
Scholars to 70, the Statutes of Eton make provision for the
instruction in grammar, &a, of "yf//V nohilium " — ^the origin of
the present Oppidans — and of ^^ pueri commensales^* whose
special position is not stated, but who answer probably to the
pensionarii at Westminster, to the commoners at Oxford, and
/to the pensioners at Cambridge. But the Founder of Eton
( could little have imagined that a time would arrive when his
^ splendid charity, so carefully formed, constituted, and endowed,
should become the subordinate adjunct of a grand patrician
seminary. Yet so it is. " Eton College has become, in fact,
an accessory to Eton School; the Provost derives from the
School most of his dignity ; and finds in the direction of it
a great part of his employment; the Head Master, though
beneath liim in rank, holds a position superior even to his in
real importance ; the Fellows are retired Masters, married and
beneficed, for the most part non-resident during three-fourths
of the year, and receiving a comfortable income — ^which they
feel justified in regarding, as the world regards it, chiefly in
the light of a pension; the boys fill, and more than fill,
the chapel." *

Arrangement of the School, — ^The time-honoured system of
six ascending Forms, which subsists in most of our great
Schools, still obtains at Eton ; but not for the purpose for
which It was originally established — that of instruction in
School.^ For that purpose a " Form" must be of manageable
size, and composed of boys nearly equal in proficiency.

* Report. P. loi.

' An interesting account of Eton about t^e middle of the sixteenth
centuiy, showing the general arrangement of the School, the discipline
of the Scholars, and the books studied, is preserved in a manuscript —
" CoNSUETUDiNARiUM Vetus SchoL/E Etonensis "— now in Corpus
College, Cambridge. It begins with a Calendariutn^ in which the holidays
and c^stoms observable in each month are enumerated. From this account

— ■ ~ ~^i^ai^r^e-^^m^F^^^m"^jv ■ ," .■T!^«^^"^^^»^3P_^L_J

At Eton, to harmonize with the increasing number of the
pupils, the system has undergone modifications too complex to
be easily intelligible from a written description. In brief, it
may be said that the three upper Forms constitute the Upper
School ; the three lower ones the Lower School. The three

it is evident that great enconragement was then given to Latin versification,
and some also to English, and that the younger boys Were especially taught
to write welL The *' Consuetudinarium " of the months is followed by an
epitome of the dajrs' duties, which is extremely valuable from the informa-
tion on the early educational system of the establishment which it presents.

The boys on the Foundation, we learn, were called at five in the
morning by one of the praepostors of the chamber, who at that hour in a
load voice cried out, ^*SurgHeJ* While dressing themselves and making
their beds the boys repeated a prayer in alternate verses. Each boy swept
that part of the dormitory about his bed, and the prsepostor chose four
boys to collect the dirt into a heap and remove it The whole of the boys
then went in a row to wash, and afterwards repaired to the school. At
six o'clock the Under Master entered the school and read prayers. The
praepostors took down the names of absentees, and one praepostor's special
duty was to examine the scholars' hands and faces, and report any who
came unwashed. The Head Master made his appearance at seven o'clock,
and the work of tuition b^an.

At this early period of Eton's history the School was divided into seven
Forms. The first three were, as now, under the control of the Lower
Master, and the others were governed by the Upper Master. The boys
had dinner at 1 1 A. M. and supper at 7 P.M. Except on particular occasions,
these appear to have been the only meals. Great attention was paid to
Latin composition both in prose and verse, and the practice of conversing
in Latin was sedulously cultivated. Friday was Hogging day.

The list of authors read in the various Forms deserves notice. In addition
to several elementary treatises, the Lower School read Terence, Select
Epistles of Cicero, Lucian's Dialogues, and iEsop's Fables. The Fourth
Form read Terence, Ovid's Tristia, and the Epigrams of Martial, Catullus,
or Thomas. Mpre. The Fifth Form read Justin, Ovid's Metamorphoses,
Valerius Maximus, Florus, Cicero's Letters, and Horace. Among the
books read by the boys in the two highest Forms are mentioned Cicero
De Offidis and De Amidtili, Virgil, Lucan, and the Greek Grammar. From
the fact that only boys in the highest class used the Greek Grammar,
it is inferred that the Lucian and iEsop among the Lower School books
were translations. The study of Greek, though eagerly prosecuted a i^ir
years afterwards, had at that period made but little progress.

d2

TAe Greal Schools of England^

upper Forms, after undergoing a gradual process of division

and subdivision, now stand as follows : —

Lower Remove.
Middle Remove.
Upper Remove.
Lower Remove.
Upper Remove.

Lower Division

Fourth

Remove

Fifth

Sixth

Middle Division
Upper Division

i Lower Remove.
Upper Remove.
! Lower Remove.
Upper Remove.

There are thus, in fact, eleven Forms or subdivisions of
Forms in the Upper School, and the boy who advances regu-
larly from the bottom makes ten steps to reach the top, each
Step marking, in theory at least, a grade of proficiency. The
Form and Remove in which a boy is, denotes his stage of
advancement and his rank in the School ; but the Form first,
and then the Removes, have gradually grown too laige to be
handled by a single Master, and it has been thought better, for
the purpose of teaching in School, to distribute the whole mass
afresh, without disturbing the organization just described, into
groups of manageable size called " Divisions," each of which
has a Master of its own. The Division in which a boy is,
indicates the Master by whom he is taught. In 1861 there
were 17 Divisions in the Upper School The number of boys
in each Division is as follows : —

First 32

Second 33

Third 38

Fourth 38

Fifth 41

Sixth 44

Seventh 42

Eighth 44

Ninth 38

Tenth 39

Eleventh 39

Twelfth 39

Thirteenth 44

Fourteenth 39

Fifteenth 40

Sixteenth 42

Seventeenth .... 40

Absent from school . . 10

The three other Forms will be considered presently in
speaking of the Lower School, which for most practical pur-
poses is distinct from the Upper.

Eton. i3

' Admissum. — As a rule, no boy is admitted to the Upper
School after 14 years of age. Before being admitted to that
School, a boy has to pass an examination, consisting of easy
translations from English into Latin, prose and verse, and from
Greek and Latin into English. Through the ill-prepared con-
dition in which parents too often send their boys to School^
the standard, though very low, not unfrequently proves beyond
the mark of the candidates. When this is the case, the re-
jected ones usually enter through the Lower School — which
admits any boy who can read — ^and after a period rise into the
Upper School when past the age at which they could originally
have entered there. This evasion of the regulation for ad-
mission into the Upper School is productive of much mischief^
and, it is to be hoped, will ere long be remedied.

Government of the School, — The general government of the
whole School, Upper and Lower, is vested in the Head Master,
subject to the control of the Provost The government of the
Lower School, subject to the control of the Ptovost, is delegated
to the Lower Master. The discipline and classical instruction
of the Upper School are shared by the Head Master with
seventeen assistants ; the Lower Master, with four assistants,
ha\nng the like charge of the Lower School

The Head Master is by the statutes to be a Master of Arts^
" if such can be procured conveniently," sufficiently instructed
in grammar and experienced in teaching, unmarried, and not
holding ecclesiastical preferment within seven miles of Eton.
He is not required to be a clergyman, nor to have been edu*
cated at Eton, but practically he is always both the one and the
other. In his case, as in that of the Fellows, the requisition
of celibacy has become obsolete.

Emoluments of the Head Master. — ^The statutory emoluments
of t^ie Head Master consisted of an annual stipend of 24
marks or 16/. with the same commons, livery, and lodgings 2is
a Fellow. He actually receives from the College 219/. a year,
and has a house within the College precincts, rent free. He
receives also an annual payment of six guineas from every boy
^except King's Scholars),, an entrance fee of five guineas from

94 The Great Schools of England.

every boy in the Upper School, and a leaving present from
^very boy in the Fifth or Sixth Form, except King's Scholars.
His income is liable, however, to certain deductions. He pays
a stipend of 50/. to the senior Assistant Classical Master, and
44/. 2s, to each of the others, and some other sums for classical
and mathematical teaching, about 15/. for examinations, and
about 350/. for prize books, On the wholes his gross receipts
during the five years ending with 1861, average 5,744/. ; his
net receipts, 4,491/. His net receipts for the year 1861 were
4,572/. 6s,^

The Head Mastet^s Duties and Powers, — In addition to the
general superintendence of the Upper, and to a limited extent
of the Lower School, the Head Master takes the whole work
of the First Division, comprising from 30 to 40 boy& It is his
province also, at the three annual examinations, technically
called '' trials," to set all the papers, except those in arithmetic
and mathematics, and to supervise a laige proportion of the
work done. He assists, likewise, in the '' intermediate exami-
nation of the King's Scholars, and again at the election trials
of those Scholars. To him, practically, are committed the
management of the entire School, and the special care of the
Foundation Scholars, as well as the appointment and control
of the Assistant Masters. In him also, and the Lower Master,
are vested the power of corporal punishment, and the authority
of the executive as regards the discipline of the boys.

The power of the Head Master is, however, much less
absolute than it appears, since he is always subject to the
control of the Provost, a control which is applied not only to
matters of real importance, but is often exercised in cases of
apparently very trivial moment No holiday or half-holiday
can be given, no alteration of the School hours made, no new
school-book, not even a new edition of an old one, caii be
introduced without the Provost's sanction. There is a conflict
of opinion among those best qualified to judge, on the question
whether or not this control operates beneficially to the School
The general feeling seems to be that the Head Master ought

1 Report P. 72.

Eton. 2g

to have free scope in questions of detail and in the ordinary
administration of the School, but that he should not be ab-
solutely uncontrolled. ^

Course of Studies, — ^Until the year 1851 the instruction at\
Eton was exclusively classical; it is now almost entirely 1
classical and mathematical, though predominantly classical^
From resident or non-resident teachers, boys who are willing
to give up their play-hours for the purpose, and who have
parents willing to pay for the instruction, may learn French,
German, Italian, drawing, and musia But as these accom-
plishments are not obligatory, and form no part of the pass-
port to academical distinctions, the great mass of boys leave
£ton without having acquired there any one of them.^

Classical Teaching, — ^The classical tuition at Eton divides
itself into two branches — ^teaching in School, and teaching out
of School — and the large proportion the latter bears to the
former constitutes the chief peculiarity of the Eton system.
Eveiy Assistant Master has a share in this double teaching —
in School, as a master in chaige of a division ; out of School,
as a tutor — ^and every boy stands in a double relation to his
tutor and to the Master of his Division ; so that, except during
the short time which he passes in the school division of which
his tutor has the charge, he* has two minds applied to his
education at almost every point in his school life.^

Classical Work in School, — ^The work in School is limited to
construing and to repeating passages learnt by heart from
Greek and Latin poets. Including the time spent in showing
up compositions previously corrected by the tutor, a boy is in
School on an average about two hours and a half on a whole
school-day. A lesson usually occupies from thirty-five to fifty
minutes. The large amount of repetition and of Latin verse
composition, and the sameness and narrow range of the reading
in Form are, by many, thought to be objectionable features in
Eton school-work. Another peculiarity against which a great
deal, but in favour of which very little can be said, is the use
of extract-books instead of the original works whence the
* Report P. 74, ■ Report P. 75.

26 The Great Schools of England.

extracts are taken. An obvious objection to this practice is,
that it must enfeeble the interest To a boy, the Iliad or the
Odyssey, read in its integrity, has all the fascination of a
romance. What comparable delight can he derive from the
disjecta membra of such a work f

Work in Pupil-room. — Every boy at Eton must have a tutor
(who is usually selected by his parent), and every lesson con-
strued in School before the Division Master is, as a general
rule, construed previously with the tutor. The time taken in
construing before the tutor is stated to average from twenty to
twenty-five minutes a lesson.

Another part of the tutor's duty is to correct his pupil's
exercises before they go to the Master in School. To correct
in detail is the business of the one, and it takes up about a
fourth of his working hours ; to estimate the value of the
exercise and see whether it is treated generally in the way
intended, is the duty of the other.^

By this system it is manifest that a boy may either work very
hard at Eton, or scarcely work at all If disposed to be
indolent, he need not do more than prepare with his tutor,
in the most meagre and mechanical way, the lesson of the day.
On the other hand, he can, if he chooses, immensely extend
the range of his studies and march rapidly on in a particular
direction.^

' In addition to preparing his pupils for their work in School
and correcting their exercises, the tutor has also to do with
them what is called '' private business." This consists of a
certain quantity of reading, independent of the school-work,
on subjects chosen by the tutor. The practice appears to have
grown up by degrees, in order to supplement the scanty course
of instruction to which the boy was confined in School. The
School taught him only Homeric Greek ; his tutor only pre-
pared him for his work in School; and neither his master nor
his tutor gave him any religious instruction. If his parents
desired that he should have any, or that he should learn the
language of the Athenian dramatists, orators, philosophers,
* Report P. 77. » Report P, if 2.

Eion. 27

and historians, or to write iambics and Greek prose, he had to
obtain and pay for private tuition. As this additional in-
struction was necessary, the private business became a matter
of course, and the extra payment for it indispensable. Ten
guineas a year were thus added to the School chaiges, and
about two hours a week to the work.^

Appointment^ QuaiificationSy and Emoluments of Classical
Assistant Masters. — Until lately, the number of pupils whom a
tutor might take was unlimited ; but forty is now considered to
be as many as any man can fairly manage. The tutors are
the Classical Assistant Masters, each of whom, besides the
share which as Master of a Division and as tutor he has to
take in the teaching of the School, has also in his turn to
attend at chapel and to call the lower boys at absence, to assist
in maintaining order and discipline out of School, and to take
charge of a dame's house. These Assistant Masters are ap-
pointed, subject to the approval of the Provost, by the Head
Master, who has also the power of removing them. It has
been an invariable custom to appoint Eton men ; and, until a
recent period, men who were Fellows of King's or who had
been Foundation Scholars at Eton. Eveiy Classical Assistant
Master receives, as such, only forty-two guineas a year from
the Head Master for his work in School. As tutor, however,
he is paid ten guineas by each pupily and twenty guineas from
t2Lc\i private pupil yvYio does not board in his house. If he has
a boarding house, he receives 120/. from each boy, this sum in-
cluding the charges for board and tuition. The payment for a
King's Scholar is always ten guineas, and to him the tutor
cannot refuse to give private business ; the King's Scholars
are, therefore, distributed among the tutors by private arrange-
ment*

Mathematical Tecuhingy Status and Emoluments of Mitthe-^
maiiccd Masters. — There appears to have been no mathematical
teaching at Eton prior to the year 1836, when Mr. S. Hawtrey
received permission to give mathematical instruction to those
boys whose parents wished them to learn. Subsequently,
. 1 Report. P. 77. • Report P. 80.

28 The Great Schools of England.

Mr. Hawtrey built a Mathematical School at his own cost, on
ground leased to him by the College, and procured, by degrees,
several Assistants. It was not; however, before 185 1, that mathe-
matics were admitted into the regular work of the School, and
Mr. Hawtrey was made Mathematical Assistant Master; an
appointment which placed him in the same rank as the
Classical Assistants. His own Assistants, however, did not
share in his elevation, nor does any care appear to have been
taken to secure for them from the boys the respect and
deference which are paid to the Classical Assistants.

The emoluments of the Mathematical Assistants are derived
partly from the pa3rment of four guineas made by every boy in
the School, partly from private teaching, and partly from the
profits of boarding. Of Uie Mathematical Fee Fund, increased
by a payment of 150/. per annum made by the College for
the instruction of the seventy King's Scholars, the Mathe-
matical Assistant Master, Mr. S. Hawtrey, who has certain
charges to provide for, receives eleven-twentieths ; the remain-
ing nine-twentieths are divided in different proportions among
six of the seven Assistants, A yearly sum of 123/. is also
paid by the Head Master, and the Mathematical Assistant
Master for the seventh. By the aid of fees derived from giving
extra mathematical instruction, the Assistants contrive to
increase their slender income; but, after all, it is inadequate
to their requirements and position, and contrasts very strikingly
with the emoluments received by the Classical Assistants,

Arrangement of the School for Mathematics. — The time
devoted to Mathematical teaching at Eton is three hours a
week throughout the school, besides an exercise between each
lesson. These three hours were added to the work in 1851, by
diminishing the number of weekly half-holidays and doing away
with the whole holidays. In the '' trials '* or examinations for
Removes, the highest marks in mathematics are allowed one-
fifth of the value assigned to the highest marks in classics. A
bo/s advance in the Mathematical School is regulated, on the
whole, though not exactly regulated, by his advance in the
Classical School, and a good mathematician may be kept,

Eion. 29

during the most of his time at School, in Mathematical Classes
much inferior to him, unless he happens also to be a good
classic. The mathematical reading of an average boy extends
to the first part of Colenso's Algebra and four books of Euclid
A fair number are said to read Trigonometry ; a few advance
to Conic Sections, treated Geometrically, and fewer to Analytical
Geometry, which is the highest point

In addition to the routine work in the Mathematical School,
which is general and obligatory, the Mathematical Masters are
permitted, as was previously observed, to give private tuition
to boys whose parents desire it, at an extra charge of ten
guineas a year. For this the pupil gets three hours' extra
lessons, the three hours being deducted from his play-time.

History and Geography. — History and Geography, ancient
and modem, are taught only in the Divisions below the Fifth
Form. Each Master in the Fourth Form and "Remove"
chooses for his Division what book and what portion of history
he thinks proper, and afterwards reports what he has set to the
Head Master. The elements of Modem History are regularly
taught in the Lower School. In the lower part of the Upper
School the subject is changed from Modem History to Ancient;
and although lessons are set commonly in the Fourth Form,
and more rarely in the " Remove," yet so soon as these forms
are passed, all direct instruction ceases, and boys are left to the
inducement supplied by examinations, and the opportunities
given by holiday-tasks, to continue and extend their reading.
On the whole, it must be admitted, that the subject, though
not neglected, is neither regularly taught nor strongly encou-
raged.^

Modem Languages. — ^The general scale of proficiency in
Modem Languages, and the model in which they are taught at
Eton, the best authorities allow, are not satisfactory. German
and Italian, for the reasons above adverted to, are almost
wholly neglected; and even the single teacher, of French
appears to have no recognised position in the School, beyond
that of '* a person holding the privilege to teach French." No

1 Report P. 84.

30 T^ Great Schools of England.

improvement in diis respect can be hoped for mitil the study is
introduced into the regular curriculum of the School. At
present it involves an extra expense to the parents, and a sacri-
fice of some hours of play to the boy. Being excluded from
the school-work, and not allowed to assist a scholar's rise in
the School, it is not surprising that the boys should look upon
the study of Modem Languages as of little importance, and
should pursue it with indifference.

Natural Science, — Physical Science is not taught at Eton^
but lectures are delivered once a week during the two winter
school-times, by men of eminence, on scientific subjects. At
the end of each lecture some questions are proposed, to which
those who choose to do so prepare written answers, for the best
of which a prize is given ; and at the end of the course ques-
tions are again proposed, to be answered from recollection.

Music and Drawing. — ^There is no school tuition in Music.
Some of the boys, however, take private lessons^ chiefly in
instrumental music ; and two of the tutors have private musical
classes.

For Drawing, a room has been fitted up with models, and
there is a skilful Drawing Master, who gives instruction in
artistic, not elementary, drawing. Practical Geometry and
Military Plan-drawing are taught in the Mathematical School
to any one desirous to learn.

The Lower School. — The three lowest Forms, it will be
remembered, constitute the Lower School at Eton. This
School is arranged for teaching in five divisions, and is taught
by the Lower Master, and four Assistants appointed by him-
self, with the approval of the Provost and Head Master. The
Assistant Masters have always been chosen from the Univer-
sities, and are always Eton men.

Besides these five masters employed in classical tuition, Mr.
S. Hawtrey, with seven assistants, gives instruction in arith-
metic, writing, and dictation ; so that the proportion of Masters
to boys is much greater than in the Upper School

The Lower Master— the ostiarius, or usher of the ancient
Grammar School — has the general management of the Lower

Eton. 31

School, subject to the control of the Provost He receives as
salary from the CoUege 78/. i6x., with a trifling allowance of
bread and beer. He also receives four guineas as entrance-fee,
and six guineas annually, from each Oppidan in the Lower
School, which charges are doubled in the case of noblemen's
sons and baronets. He pays to each of his Classical Assistants
30/. a year. He keeps a boarding-house, and is tutor to his
own boarders, each of whom pays him 130/., instead of 120/.,
the customary charge for a boy in a tutor*s house.

Hardly any age is considered too early, nor any age (under
fourteen) too late for admission to the Lower School. Boys
are admitted as soon as they are able to read ; and they do
enter, not unfrequently, at seven years of age. Their number
varies much. Between 1812 and 1833 it ranged from 79 to
37 ; between 1834 and 1839, from 22 to 11 ; it has since risen
considerably, and in 1861 was 99. These figures, it should be
noticed, are taken from the lists published at election, a period
when the Lower School is not at its fullest The highest num<
ber in each year since 1857 inclusive, has never fallen below
100, and was in 1859, 139; in 1861, 121 ; and in 1862 it
reached to 140.

The studies of the Lower School are thus described by a
late Master, Mr. Carter : —

«<

The sjrstem of teaching in the Lower School does not necessarily
comprise any modem language, the subjects being Bible history, classics,
geography, English history, arithmetic, writing, dictation, so arranged
that classics^ writing, or dictation are the subjects of three days in each
week, while history, or geography and arithmetic are taught on the other
three ; all of these form the subjects of examination twice a year, when the
papen for each Form are set from the portions of work done by each
Form since the last examination, and looked over by the Lower Master,
with the single exception of arithmetic; the places are determined by
him according to a boy's proficiency in each subject, arithmetic bearing a
proportion of one-fifth to the rest of the work ; these are the ordinary
examinations according to which boys rise from one Form to another twice
a year. A deserving boy may at any time be promoted on the joint
recommendation of the Master of the Division and of the tutor, a case
which repeatedly happens ; as, for instance, six boys were sent from the
Lower to the Upper School at various times during the interval between

3d The Great Schools of England,

election and ChristmaB. Should there be any difference of opinion, which
seldom exists, between the Master and tutor, the Lower Master would
examine the boy himself, and fix his proper position. This system, which
has been changed and enlarged during the last three years, works well, and
does not seem to require further change as regards the present subjects.**

The Lower School boys prepare their lessons in pupil-room,
and their hours of work are many more than those in any part
of the Upper SchooL While the holidays are so numerous at
Eton, this close occupation may not be practically injurious ;
but, should the time-table be reconstructed, some provision
will, no doubt, be made to afford the Lower School due oppor-
tunities for healthy recreation.

Promotion^ Exhibitions^ Scholarships^ 6*^. — It is admitted
that the most important stimulant to exertion which any School
can apply, is a proper system of promotion. By that of Eton
we have seen a boy gets, as a rule, two steps or " Removes "
in every year. One he obtains as a matter of course, without
examination, the other he obtains through an examination
called '' trials,** so little difficult that it is ignominious, as it is
almost impossible, to fail The " trials " are so far competitive
that a boy who does well in them takes a higher place within
his Remove, though he does not advance the quicker in the
School. On a recommendation from his tutor and the Master
of his Division, a boy may offer himself for a double Remove ;
he is then examined, not with the boys of his own Remove, but
with those of the next above it ; and if he beats two-thirds of
them, he is transferred to it, and rises with it, thereby gaining
two steps in the School at once. These examinations go on
until the boy is landed in the Upper Fifth; after which he
rises by seniority above it, if he be an Oppidan. The King's
Scholars have, about a year afterwards, an examination of some
severity, which determines their place in College. In addition
to the trials, there is an examination of each Division, called
" Collections," at the end of every term, as to work done in
school-time. The boys are classed in collections, but the
distinction which each gains is only honorary, and does not
affect his place in the School, except that a ** class " gained in

EtcfL 33

it, whether in Classics or Mathematics, is carried to his credit
at the next examinatioa

The Scholarships at King's College, Cambridge, are appro-
priated to the King's Scholars, and the examination for them
turns entirely upon the school-work of the previous year, with
Greek and Latin Composition in prose and verse, Mathematics
and Arithmetic The Newcastle Scholarship is open to boys
in the Sixth Form, in the Upper Division of the Fifth, and to
those in the Middle Division who will leave School before
the next examination. The Tomline prize of 30/., in books,
for Mathematics, is open to the whole School, as also is the
late Prince Consort's prizes for Modern Languages. The
prizes for Declamation, and the first Holiday Task prize, are
confined to the King's Scholars. The second Holiday Task
prize, founded by the Assistant Masters, is open to the six first
Divisions of the Fifth Form. There are two prizes for English
Essays ; one left by Mr. Richards, one given by the Head
Master, open to the two first Divisions of the School. A
" Latin Essay," founded by Mr. Richards, open to voluntary
competition for the first seventy bo3rs. A prize given by the
Assistant Masters for proficiency in Mathematics, open to the
Fifth Form. A prize for the best piece of Prose, and one for
the best copy of Verses done during the School-time in the
First Division. A book is given by the Head Master to each
boy on the third occasion of an exercise sent up by the
Classical Master under whom he is at School ; the same in the
case of the Mathematical School, and to each boy whose name
stands first in the collections of his Division.

There are other Scholarships in the gift of the Provost of
King's College, Cambridge, and the Provost and the Head
Master of Eton, confined to King's Scholars. These are
awarded without examination.

Moral Training and General Discipline of the School, — It is
the duty of a tutor to exercise a general moral superintendence
over each of his pupils. If he boards at a dame's, or at a
Mathematical Master's, the extent of the tutor's responsibility
is still in theory the same ; though what may be called the

D

\

\

34 ^^ Great Schools of England.

domestic superintendence of the boy necessarily falls, in that
case, to the person in whose house he resides. This relation,
which begins when a boy first enters Eton, and subsists during
the whole time that he remains there, places him under the
guardianship of one person whose duty, at least in theory, is to
watch the development of his mental powers, the rise and
growth of moral tendencies, to win his affections and thus
exercise a control over his character, to communicate freely
with his parents, to protect him whenever, from misunder-
standing or misapprehension, he may be liable to be hardly
judged or punished, and to inculcate, as occasions offer, high
principles of thought and action.^

This institution has grown up by degrees, and is to be found
in variously modified forms in other great Schools. At Eton,
the highest value is attached to it ; and there can be no doubt
that, in a school of such magnitude, it is, when properly carried
out, of especial service.^

Monitorial Powers, — Strictly speaking, there is no monitorial
or prefect system at Eton ; tiie Sixth Form, and in particular
cases the Upper boys in the Fifth, are empowered to punish
breaches of discipline by setting impositions, or by the more
summary process of an immediate " Hcking.'' The Captain of
each house is also expected to assist the Master of it in main-
taining order. Among the King's Scholars, the authority of
the Sixth Form extends over all below the first six of the
Fifth Form, and in certain excef^tional instances over them
also ; it is frequently exercised, is considered to work well, and
is thought to be beneficial by the King's Scholars themselves.
Formerly, when tyrannical habits prevailed generally among the
bigger boys in College, the power of the Sixth Form also sui>-
plied excuse for oppression; but this has ceased since the
appointment of the Assistant Master in Collie. Among the
Oppidans it is confined to boys below the Fifth, and in practice
is rarely exercised at alL There are offences, however, which
A Sixth Form boy, whether King's Scholar or Oppidan, would
^hink himself bound to notice and suppress, and the Head
1 Evidence. P. I20. * Report P. 94.

Etotu 35

Master considers that^ver]r^Sixti|ijom holds his rank on\
the condition of discountenancing and putting down disorders J
and breaches of discipline, though it does not appear that ar
/allure in this respect has ever actually been a cause of degra-
dation. The Sixth Form does not in reality enjoy any social
pre-eminence apart from that of age, and there seems, prac-
tically, no line of demarcation between them and the rest of
the School. The monitorial system, therefore, with its formal
delegation of powers and duties, as it prevails at Harrow,
Rugby, and other Schools, has hardly more than a nominal
existence at Eton in the present day.^

Fagging, — This odious practice, though in mitigated form,
still exists at Eton. No one appears to know when, or under
what circumstances, this law of might sprung up in our schools;
but there is something so inconceivably wrong in permitting
an elder boy to exercise over a younger one, a tyranny no
Master dare practise over either, that it is surprising public
opinion has not long since put the system down. The power
to fag is, as a general rule, confined to the Sixth Form, and to
the Fifth, exclusive of the Lower Remove, Lower Division; the
liability to be fagged, to boys below the Fifth Form. Every
lower boy in each house is assigned as a special fag to some
Sixth or Fifth Form boy in that house, and every lower boy
in College to one of the first eleven in College.

Punishment. — ^At Eton, as at most of the |;reat Schools,
"impositions" form the ordinary pimishment, but corporal
castigation, which in the Upper School is administered by the
Head Master only, and in the Lower School by the Lower
Master only, is not unfrequently inflicted.

Bounds. — In no other School in England do the pupils enjoyX
so much personal fireedom as at Eton. The prescribed bounds, \
indeed, are narrow enough ; but these limitations are a name \
rather than a reality. A boy may roam miles and miles away /
irom Collie with impunity, if, when he espies a Master, he \
has the grace to step aside and affect to hide behind any object
at hand. Let the covert be no thicker than a hazel twig, the

^ Rqwrt, P. 94.
D a

36 The Great Schools of England.

truant has the " receipt of fern-seed," and walks invisible. A
favourite roving-place, especially for Collegers who can **get
a name out of Hall,** is among the cascades and modem-antique
ruins of Virginia Water. Another is the vicinity of Runnymede.
As the landscape educates as well as the book, and the custom
of '' shirking" a master is injurious on many accounts, it is
advisable that the so-called "bounds," with the exception of
certain objectionable places, should be abolished. They have
practically ceased to exist : the affectation of observing them
is, if not hypocrisy, at least an absurdity.

Sports and Pastimes, — If at Eton work is not so vigorous as
it might be, play is certainly not neglected. To the attractions
of the cricket-field are added those of the river; the captain of
the boats is the greatest man in the school, and next in rank
to him stands the captain of the eleven. The supreme sport
of Eton, indeed, is rowing. Thames, Cam, and Isis proclaim
the glories of her eight-oars — her Monarchy Dreadnought^ Prince
of IVales^ and Thetis :—

" Prima pares ineunt gxuvibiis certamina remis
Quatuor ex omni delectae classe carinas. "

Their weekly races during the summer season and the annual
procession of the boats to Surley upon the 4th of June, are sights
which no country in the world but England can show or can
appreciate. An Assistant Master, who has taken an active
interest in what may be termed the physical education of Eton,
bears testimony to the beneficial effects, not only ph3rsical but
moral, of a keen participation in athletic sports. It diminishes,
in his opinion, the class of idlers and loiterers — a class by
common consent most mischievous, to whom too many temp-
tadons are offered by the street and little shops of Eton, and
is an antidote to luxurious and extravagant habits, to drinking^
and vice of all kinds. No boy is permitted to go on the river
who has not '' passed " in swimming before a committee of
Masters. This rule has, it is said, entirely put an end to acd
dents, which were previously not infrequent Unobjectionable
as are the games in vogue at Eton, they ought to be diversified,

Eton, 3^

to receive a certain earnestness from being accompanied by
military training, and they should be compulsory on the whole
School Some of the greatest military writers on the Continent
maintain that every nation should from youth be familiarized
to arms, and if at Eton an hour a day were devoted to military
exercise, the moral results would be as great as the physical
advantages. Patriotic fervour would be fostered by the side
of Spartan endurance.^

* An old custom, once very popular at Eton, called ** Hunting of
the Ram,*' has been very properly abolished, though, as illustrating the
taste of our forefathers, it merits perhaps a brief description. The College
had an andent right to claim from its butcher a mm, to be hunted by the
Scholars on the Annual Election Saturday. The animal upon one occasion
being sore pressed by its pursuers, swam across the Thames and ran into
Windsor Market with the bojrs after it This accident caused much mis-
chief, and thenceforth the ram was ordered to be hamstrung, and a^ter the
Election was knocked on the head with twisted dubs, some of which are
stiU preserved. A few years after this change in its character, the sport, at
best a brutal one, was entirely discontinued. The ram is now slaughtered
in the ordinary way, and its flesh is baked in pasties which are partaken of
by the Collegers.

Another less andent but more graceful Eton ceremony. The Triennial
MoNTEM, has likewise been abolished since 1847, — On the Tuesday in
Whitsun week the whole School were wont to march in order to a small
Tumulus on the Bath road, named " Salt Hill," bearing two banners, one
blazoned with the College Arms, the other with the motto, " Pro More et
Monte/* Here the boys forming the procession took dinner, and after a
Latin prayer had been read on the mount, returned in the order in which
they set out. The origin of the ceremony is unknown. Its object for
many years was the collection of contributions from the spectators, among
whom were usually the Royal family, many of the neighbouring nobility
and gentry, and the personal friends of the boys. The two chief collectors,
or salt-bearers, were a Colleger and an Oppidan, who were arrayed in
splendid dresses and carried each a silk bag to recdve the donations. They
were assisted by other boys in similar dresses, who ranged the country in
all directions and exacted tribute from those they met The sum collected
on these occasions amounted at times to above £1,000. Half the collection
was usually absorbed by the cost of a magnificent breakfast and dinner,
and other entertainments; the remainder went towards the University
ontfit and maintenance of the Senior Colleger, who was the captain and
hero of the day. A public ball and fireworks ordinarily wound up these
festivals, which in former times appear to have been conducted with as

i^

38 The Great Schools of England,

Debating Society, — ^This institution, admission to which is
eagerly sought for, but with difficulty obtained, was established
by Charles Fox Townshend in or about the year 1 8 1 1 . Though,
spoken of as the " Society," it is locally known by the name of
" Pop," the derivation of which remains to this day as much
a puzzle as the author of '^Junius." In the list of its honorary
members will be found Mr. Gladstone, Sir T. Fremantle, Bishop
Selwyn, Sir G. C. Lewis, Dr. Pusey, Dr. Jelf, Lord L3rttelton,
and a score of well-known politicians and writers who here
first " imped their wings " for loftier flights. The Society has
been somewhat migratory in its day, but it seems now perma-
nently domiciled in a handsome house which once formed part
of the old "Christopher" Inn.

The debates, it should be observed, are exempt from any
interference on the part of the Masters. No Master, unless he
is an honorary member, and prepared to speak, or has been
specially introduced, is allowed to be present

Holidays, — The holidays at Eton are very numerous. In
addition to the customary periods of vacation — ^namely, at

much propriety as could be expected. The introduction of railway
travelling, however, soon changed the character of Montem^ and led to
excesses so scandalous in themselves and so annoying to the authorities,
that when all attempts to regulate or modify them failed, no resource was
left but the abolition of the Saturnalia altogether. Mackworth Praed has
some amusing lines on the tawdry and sometimes ruinously expensive
costumes of the Montem day : —

" See Montem sempstress* handy-work.

The Greek confounded with the Turk,

Parisian mixed with Piedmontese,

And Persian joined to Portuguese ;
} And mantles short, and mantles long.

And mantles right, and mantles wrong,
\ Mis-shaped, mis-coloured, and mis-placed

With what ihe tailor calls ' a Taste.*

And then the badges and sur-coats.

The flags, the drums, the paint, the boats ;

But more than these, and more than all.

The oarsman's intermitted call,

*Ea8yr 'Hardalll"*

/

/

Eton, 39

Easter, three weeks and four days ; at Election, six weeks and
four days ; at Christmas, four weeks and four days, — Tuesdays
and Saturdays are half-holidays ; and on Thursday there is no
School after four o'clock. Again, every Saint's day is a holi-
day, and the eve of every Saint's day a half-holiday ; and, as if
these relaxations were not sufficient, half-holidays are granted on
many other occasions, such as a birth in the family of a Fellow,
the appointment of an Etonian to an office of distinction, the
visits of eminent personages, and even on the presentation of
personal ornaments to- the Head Master by noble represen-
tatives of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. '

J^eligious Observances, — Of religious worship, and of religious
instruction, there is no deficiency at Eton. Besides the ordi-
nary services on the Sundays, the boys attend two services on
every whole holiday, and one (at three o'clock in the after-
noon) on every half-holiday. Prayers also are read in College,
and in all the boarding-houses, on Sunday mornings and
evenings ; and at all the Tutors' on week-days. Some of the
tutors, too, read a short sermon or address, of their own
composition, to their pupils on Sunday night The afternoon
services on Sundays and Saints* days are choral, and, like all
the other services for the benefit of the Upper School, are per-
formed in the College Chapel. The boys of the Lower School,
from want of accommodation in the Chapel, attend service at
a church in the town of Eton.

Boarding-Houses, — Fifty years ago the Oppidans lived chiefly
in boarding-houses, kept by ladies who were locally entitled
"dames." During the intermediate period, the number of
dames' houses has gradually diminished, the custom having
grown up for the Classical Assistant Masters to keep boarding-
houses, from which they now derive the principal part of their
emoluments. There are at Eton, in all, thirty boarding-houses.
Of these, seventeen are kept by Classical Assistant Masters ;
three by Mathematical Masters ; one by the Drawing Master ;
five by gentlemen, in other respects not connected with the
School, and four by ladies.

40

The Great Schools ofEn^cmd.

The number of boys in each boarding-house is as follows : —

The Lower Master . . 38

First Assistant. • • - 35

Second 27

Fourth 32

Fifth 28

Sixth ...... 29

Seventh 25

Eighth 18

Ninth 24

Tenth 24

Eleventh 12

Twelfth 8

Thirteenth 34

First Assistant, Lower School.
Second

25
49

Third ii

Fourth 7

Mathematical Assistant Masters : —

Second •
Third . .

7
5

Fourth . . .
Drawing Master

10

It should be stated that in the last-mentioned house, which
will not accommodate a larger number, the boarders pay higher
than in other houses, but are charged no extras of any kind,
and take all their meals and live in every respect with the
master and mistress of the house.

In the remaining boarding-houses the numbers are as fol-
lows :—

One containing .

. . 47

One

containing . .

. 18

»f 11 • '

. 38

*>

»t

. 17

»» f> • '

. 30

»>

fi • •

. 16

»t )» • «

, 29

>•

II

. 10

»» >> • <

. . 21

There is a rule that no Assistant Master may board (and
receive payment for) more than thirty boys, or, including two
pairs of brothers, thirty-two ; but this salutary regulation does
not appear to be rigorously enforced, or even generally
known.

A boy at a Classical Assistant Mastei^s house pays 120/. for
board and tuition, the Master being likewise his tutor. At the
Lower Master's house we have seen that the chaige is 10/. a

Eian, 4^

year more. At a Mathematical Assistant Mastet^s he pays
84/., and at a dame's from 63/. to 84/., paying also, as a rule,
20/. to his tutor. His expenses for board at a Mathematical
Assistant Master's house are 16/. less than at a Classical
Assistant Master's, and at a dame's house from 37/. to
16/. less.

There is no uniform diet, but it is said, without being luxu-
rious, to be very liberal and of good quality. The meals —
Breakfast between 9 and 10 a.m. at which each boy has his
own allowance of rolls and butter, tea, sugar and milk, in his
own room.

Dinner, usually at 2 p.m. with the tutor and his other
pnpils.

Tea, usually at 6 p.m. taken, like the breakfast, by each boy
in his own room.

Supper, at 9 p.m. with the tutor and the other pupils. In a
tutor's house the tutor finds the furniture of a bo/s room, with
the exception of a bureau, a carpet, the necessary crockery, and
a set of linen, which involve an outlay to each parent of from
14/. to 18/. In some cases a fixed charge of 10/. is made by
the tutor for a supply of those things, which are then considered
his property. In other cases an annual charge of 6/. 6s, is
made for the use of them.

School Charges and Annual Expenses of a Boy at Eton.

I. EXPENSES OF A COLLEGER.

Tutor 10 10 o

College charges 5 5 o

Washing 500

School fees 300

He also pays for his tea and sugar — in all, exclusive of
clothes, travelling, and pocket-money — his expenses annually
amount to about 25/. Inclusive of everything, they reach
to 50/.

42

77ie Great Schools of Er^nd.

II. EXPENSES OP A RESIDENT OPPIDAN.

Annual Payments,

Single Payments.

£

s.

d.

£

s.

d.

Board and tuition . .

. I20

o

o»

Head Master, en-

Books and washing

lO

o

o

trance ....

5

5

o«

Head Master . . .

. 6

6

o»

Ditto, leaving present

ID

o

o»

Mathematics . .

. 4

i8

o

Tutor, leaving present

15

o

o

Sanatorium • . .

I

4

o

Petty school charges .

I

3

o

Library (above Lower

Fifth) ....

o

12

o

€

1^144

3

o

£i^

5

o

Extras,

- Extras,

£

s.

d.

£

s.

d.

Extra Mathematics .

ID

ID

o

French entrance . .

I

I

o

French . * . . .

ID

ID

o

German, ditto . .

1

I

o

German

12

13

o

Drawing, ditto • •

I

X

o

Drawing and mate-

rials .....

'4

14

o

Fencing ....

8

8

o

Leaving Books, — ^When boys leave Eton it is the practice of
their School-friends and acquaintances of the same standing to
give them books as presents. Much has been said for, much
against, this generous and graceful custom. On the one hand,
it is declared to foster good fellowship, good temper, honour,
manliness, and other popular qualities ; on the other, it is
denounced as a mere formality, and as involving a very serious
expense.

1 At a dame's 84/. for board, and 21/. for tuition ; or, 105/.

* In the case of noblemen, of noblemen's sons, or baronets, this chaise is
doubled.

* A boy in the Sixth Form pays 15/. or 20/.

l

^

.1

I >

I '

I'

*

V / ■ 1

t

*«

I

.• ]

^

Eton. 43.

CHAPTER III.

ETONIANS, PAST AND PRESENT.

"Throughoat thy spacious courts, and o*er thy green
Irriguous meadows, --swarming as of old,
A youthful generation still is seen
Of birth, of mind, of humour manifold,
The grave, the gay, the timid, and the bold ;
The noble nursling of the palace hall.
The merchant's offspring bom to wealth untold.
The pale-eyed youth whom learning's spells enthral.
Within thy cloisters meet, and love thee one and alL"

"Young art thou still, and young shalt ever be
, In spirit as thou wast in years gone by ;
/ The present, past, and future blend in thee.
Rich as thou art in names which cannot die I
And youthful hearts already beating high
To emulate the glories won of yore.
That days to come may still the past out-vie,
And thy bright roll be lengthened more and more
Of statesman, bard, and sage well versed in noblest lore.

»T

The following are the names of the Provosts and Head
Masters of Eton College, with the dates of their appointment :

PROVOSTS OF ETON.

1 44 1. Henry Sever.
1441. William Waynfiete.
I447. John Clerc
1447. William Westbury.
1 47 7. Henry Bost
1503. Roger Lupton.
1536. Robert Aldrich.
1547. Thomas Smith.

1554. Henry Cole.
1559* William BilL
1 56 1. William Day.
1596. Henry Savile.
1691. Thomas Murray.
1694. Sir Henry Wotton.
1639. Richard Stewart
1643. Francis Rous.

THe Great Schools of Ert^nd,

i«58. Nicholai Lockyer.

176s- Edward Barnard. A

Y

1660. NicholM Monk.

1781. William Hayward Roberts.

I<S6i. John Meredith.

1791. Jonathan Davies.

ilS6j. Richard Allcstree.

1809. Joseph GoodalL ■*

-

1680. Zachaiks CraJock.

1840. Francis Hodgson.

1843. Edward Hawlrcy. .../

-J

1731. Henn- Bland.

tS63. Charles Goodford. -f

V

■ 746. Steven Sleech.

HEAD MASTB

IS OF ETON,

1440. William Waynflcte.

iSSo, Thomag Rydley.

1443. William Weslbuiy.

1583. — Hammond.

1447. Richard Hoplon.

IS94- Richard Langley.

I4J1. Thomu Forster.

1611. Matthew Bust.

1453. ClenwDt Sroeth.

1630. John Harrison.

1459. John Peyntour, or Piylout.

1636. William Nonis.

1464. John Spicer.

1646. Nicholas Gray.

1470. Walter Barbour, or Baibar.

1647. Thomas Home.

1484, Thomai Mucbe.

165(1. Thomas Singleton.

1489. - Harman.

1491. Edward PoweL

1681. Charles Roderick.

1690, John Newborough.

1506. John Smythe.

1711. Andrew Snape.

.508. John Goldyve.

1710. Henry Bland.

ijio. Thomas FhillipK

1718. William George.

IJIJ. Thomas Erlysman.

1743- William Cooke.

151s- Robert Aldrich.

I74S. John Sumner.

■ 531. Thomai Whyte.

1754. Edward Barnard. -^

-f

ijij. John Goldwyn.

1765. John Foster.

IS)7- WiUiam Goldwyn.

1773. Jonathan Davies.

1530. Richard Coie.

1793. George Heath.

IJ34. Nichola* Udall. or WoddalL

1801. Joseph Goodall. •+

-+

IS4». — Smyth.

1809. John Keate.

IS4S. Robert Carter.

1834. Edward Hawtrey. -f

-*■

1561. William Maylyn.

1853. Charles Goodford. -y
1862. Edward Balston. '^

-1

ijji. Reuben Sherwode.

A complete list of the divines, statesmen, lawyers, warriors,
poets, philosophers, and men of letters who received their
earliest intellectual training at Eton, would far exceed our
limits. We select the names of a few of those most distin-
guished in after life. Prominent among her ecclesiastics, of
either creed, are Stafford of Bath and Wells, Lord Chancellor

EUm. 45

1432-50; to whom, almost equally with her founiJer, Eton
owes a debt of pious gratitude ; Waynflete of Winchester,
Chancellor and founder of Magdalen College, Oxford, whose
services to Eton have previously been mentioned ; Rothebam
of T^incoln, Archbishop of York, Cardinal and Chancellor,
tempore Edward IV, ; Woodlarke, founder of St. Catherine
College, Cambridge, in 1473 ; West,' Bishop of Ely, and King,
of Exeter, under Henry VIII. ; Aldrich and Croke, friends
of Erasmus, two of the~earliest fosterers of Greek literature in
this country ; Hawkins of Ely, who, when Archdeacon, sold
his plate and other valuables during a sore famine, and lived
on pulse that he might support those of his poor parishioners
most pinched by want ; Laurence Saunders who, during the
Marian persecution, " played the Man in the fire," with his three
brave school-mates. Fuller, Hullier, and Glover,

"""-■*— ^' When cruel death was pure religion's meed."

FoxE, Bishop of Winchester, the faithful friend and staunch
adherent of Charles I. in his bitterest reverses ; Montague of
Norwich ; Sherlock* of Salisbury, and Pearson of Chester,
celebrated for his ""Exposition of the Cree3j" are all Etonians
whose names posterity " will not willingly let die." In our own
age, Eton points among her churchmen to the late Archbishop
or Canterbury, with his brother of Winton ; to the late and
the present prelates of Salisbury, and Bath and Wells, and,
in our colonies, to those of Nelson, and Wellington, Cape
Town, Brisbane and Columbo. She boasts of Dean Milman,

' "WesI was," wysFnller, in his " Worthies of England," "arakelin
grain." He left Eton for King's College, Cambridge, in 1484, "where
tomcthing crossing him, he could find no other wa; to work his revenge
'. than by secret setting on fire thj Master's lodgings, put whereof be burnt
to the ground. But they," continues Fuller, " go far who turn not again,
' In West the old proverb was verified, 'Naughty boyi sometimes make
J good men.*" The youth, in fact, repented, became an earnest student, an
eminent statesman, restored the buildings he had destroyed, waa a liberal
benefactor to King'a College, and died Bishop of Ely, in 1533.

* " The plunging prelate," of the DuneiaJ. Sherlock was in youth an
excellent iwimmer, and earned his joiriquet by dauntless " headeis " into
the Thames at Surlcy Hall and Black Poti.

y-

•f

^
I

46 The Great Schools of England,

historian and poet, of Archdeacon Denison, Dr. Pusey, Regius
Professor of Hebrew, of the "evangelical" Charle§ Simeon,
and of the excellent but eccentric Rowland Hill.

The list of Etonians who have achieved eminence as states-
men is a noble one. Passing over a few distinguished men
connected with the school before the i8th century, we come
to Sir Robert Walpole^ and his brilliant rival Boling-
BROKE ; to PiTTj tlic great commoner," subsequentlyTifst
E^ of Charhani ;* Francis, Lord North ; Charles James

^ Of Sir R. Walpole it may be said that he rather contributed to England^s
powerful material development than to the honour and grandeur of England's
name. The accession of the Hanoverian dynasty was contemporaneous
with the transftgurement of England into a purely commercial country, and
the final defeat of the Stuarts was conincident with the downfall of agri-
cultural predominance. It is by the light of this fact that we have to
estimate Sir Robert Walpole ; we shall otherwise be tempted to condemn
him too seriously. The ancient chivalries had departed, and Sir Robert
Walpole introduced into politics the spirit of commercial morality. If
the maxim is true that every country is' as well governed as it deserves to
be, it may be accepted as an apology for much of Sir Robert's conduct.
Nevertheless, a politician who was in the habit of saying that every man
ha^Jilis price, and ytho maintained himself in power by corruption, is not
Reserving of posthumous honour, however admirable his qualities or
important his services as a statesman.

' Haughty, irascible, and overbearing, too fierce and implacable in his
animosities, Lord Chatham, incomparable as an orator and as a states-
man, was animated by a burning patriotism and chivalrous disinterestedness.
It has been remarked by the celebrated German historian, Leopold Ranke,
that in England domestic policy generally takes precedence of foreign, while
in France it is foreign policy which decides the fate of Governments and
interests the soul of the nation. When England is prosperous and free, it
often looks with indifference at the struggles of foreign lands and at the
miseries of mankind. On the other hand, France can bear with patience
ruined commerce, languishing agriculture, the loss of liberty, if its attitude
abroad is commanding, and its troops are rushing from victory to victory.
But it was the ambition of Chatham to render England pure — ^happy at
home, and feared and honoured all over the globe. In opposition and
in office he defended the highest interests of justice and of liberty, and
the " terrible comet of dragoons '* — as Sir Robert Walpole called him,
when Chatham was assailing his own triumphant ministry of twenty years
^died in endeavouring to ^ve his native country from that flagrant folly ^ • *
to which the United States owed their independence. The old man of */^

.f V

^ . ^ ^^ ..-

. . . ^ - -^ ' . • t. y

/

Eton. 47

Fox •} Lord Granville ; the Marquis of Wellesley ;* Earl
Grey f and he who loved to style himself " Nephew of Fox,

f serenty, making a last effort to utter words of warning and of prophecy,
was borne fainting from the House of Lords, and in the few lingering
weeks that remained to him after consciousness returned, his imagination
and his heart could summon back no sweeter memories to sooth and cheer
him than the Eton of his boyhood.

^ An individuality as distinct as possible from his great political
contemporaries, Pitt and Burke, was the Etonian, Charles James Fox.
Man of pleasure, man of action, he claims our homage by his generous
instincts and his emotional breadth. Large-hearted, warm-hearted, he
tried, but not always with success, to be patriot, partisan, and good-
fellow all in one. His career was narrower than his nature, and the one
was sometimes degraded by a duplicity from which the other was free.
The statesmen of England are not often remarkable for either insight or
foresight. Evils accumulate in England, till at last a giant's hand is needed
to sweep them away. Fox had more of foresight and of insight than his
celebrated contemporaries. Burke and the rest had a quick eye and a
sharp tongue for the woes and the wrongs which were the offspring of
the French Revolution, but they were blind to the benefits which that
tremendous upheaval was destined to confer on France and the human
race. From the beginning Fox perceived the whole significance of the
Revolution, though he could not calculate its remoter consequences.
Where, in reference both to the French Revolution and to other matters,
Fox inevitably iieuled, was in his inability to infuse into the Whig oligarchy *
his own ardent and chivalrous spirit. The fact is singular, that it was the ,
cold and haughty Pitt who animated and guided the popular elements, j
while the fervid and impassioned Fox was driven to be the champion of \
Whig exdusiveness. '

' The reputation of this brilliant and gifted man is second to none at
Eton, and deservedly so. As Governor-general of India, and, afterwards,
as Lord-lieutenant of Ireland, he must be for ever memorable, India had
never a more magnificent and far-sighted ruler, or one who could sympathize
more thoroughly with Oriental habits and feelings. Ireland had never a
more accomplished Viceroy. But the Marquis of Wellesley, if superior,
as some have held him, to his younger brother, the Duke of Wellington, in
faculty and acquirements, wanted that brother^s compactness, directness^
and energy. ^It is, as already noticed, at Eton, and most fittingly, that the
mortal remains of this accurate and graceftil scholar repose ; and the " Iron
Duke " never presents himself to us with an interest so pleasing as when
we behold him watching with unaccustomed tears the coffin of his brother
slowly descending into the gmve.^

^ Though liberal in politics, no one, periiaps, who ever studied at Eton

#

• ^ " ^^ I \ isf ' : ^ ^

i ^ f <^ .

* 4

^TZ^^i^^^ / "

( i- i t

;

^

/ y

*

^

f^

4B The Gvettf'Schoifts-^England,

and friend of Grey,i Lord Holland / George Canning ;•
Lord WTelbourne ; Earl Derby, who boasted that, of the
thirteen members of his last cabmet, six were Etonian

was more intensely aristocratic than Lord Grey. Eminently the patriot,
he was the patrician still more than the patriot But if he proudly pxx>>
claimed his determination to stand or fall with his Order, it was because
he identified the greatness of his order with the glory of his country. No
statesman could be more courageous or consistent than Lord Grey. He
was faithful to the cause of liberty when many of his own party had
deserted it; and the Reform Bill, which he carried, embodied principles
which he had advocated in Parliament nearly fifty years before. Still,
his disdainfiil reserve, his want of elasticity, spontaneousness, and popular
sympathy, condemned him to a species of isolation, and his achievements
were certainly disproportioned to the grandeur of his example.

^ If less gifted than Charles Fox, quite as generous, while much more
careless about Whig traditions and dogmas, was his nephew, Lord Holland.
Like his uncle, this amiable and excellent nobleman was distinguished for
his classical predilections. His political attitude was invariably lofty and
bold. Accused in the House of Lords of having calumniated the laws

rof his country, he retorted that he had not spoken evil of the Constitution,
forasmuch as he was not in the habit of slandering the dead ; that those who
praised the Constitution reminded him of Harlequin when eulogizing his
horse — an admirable animal which had only one fault, that of no longer
being alive. But Lord Holland was bom for worthier things than flinging
sarcasms at his political opponents. At home he uiged improvement and
preached tolerance ; abroad all oppression had in him a foe,--«like at home
and abroad, all the oppressed had in him a friend. That amelioration
of the penal law to which Sir Samuel Romilly had devoted himself as to
a holy mission, obtained Lord Holland's energetic aid. The insane and
cruel reaction which followed the downfall of Napoleon kindled Lord
Holland's fiercest indignation, and was the theme of his eloquent discourse.

But it is as the centre of a circle more social than literary, more literary
than political, that Lord Holland will be longest known. Holland House
was a scene of intellectual enjoyment to which only the choicest spirits {
found entrance ; and the gaiety, the refinement, and the wit of those
re-unions have formed a theme for many a famous pen. Surrounded by
authors, Lord Holland was himself an author of no mean rank. His
profound acquaintance with Spanish literature was evinced by his Life'
of Lope de Vega, and by his translation of several of the bot Spanish '
comedies ; while his rendering of the seventh satire of Ariosto proved hwy*
to be no less conversant with the literature of Italy.

* The sons of Lord Momington, of whom the Marquis of Wellesley
and the Duke of Wellington are the chief, were bom to greatness. Not

Eton, 49

late Sir George Cornewall Lewis; and the present Charfcellor
of the Exchequer, Mr. Gladstone.

Eton can claim as yet but one Lord Chancellor since the
Reformation — LoRDj[!AMD©J~though, of her Chief Justices,
CfiieTBarons, Ji^dges, and leading Barristers, the catalogue is
almost interminable. Chief Justice Sir James Mansfield,
Sir ViCARY Qxbbs, and the late Lord Penman were Etonians ;
as were the late Vice-Chancellor Sir Launcelot Shadwell ;
the late Judges Crowder, Patteson, and Coleridge ; and
Sir E. S. Creasy, now Chief Justice of Ceylon. Among her
diplomatists may be mentioned Sir Francis yiTAt^iNSBAM,
the colleague of Lord Burleigh, and father-in-law to Sir Philip
Sj^jxey; her admirable Provost, Sir Henry Wotton;^ and
in our day. Lord Stratford-de-Redcliffe.

Of Eton Admirals, the most renowned are, perhaps, Sir
Humphrey Gilbert, the friend and half-brother of Sir Walter
Raleigh ; and, in the last generation, Richard, Earl Howe,
the " Brave black Dick," of the ist of June, 1794.

In the sister service she can lay claim to the Parliamentary
general, Essex ; the Marquis of Granby ; brave Cornwallis,
and Arthur, Duke of Wellington.^ ^

so George Canning. His was the painful lot of the adventurer. In a
/ countiy so aristocratic as England, where there is a jealousy of rising merit,

this must always be a virtual disadvantage. Aristocratic disdain and
^ defiance long barred Canning's way to eminence, and it is said stung and
/ crushed him even to death when he had attained the object of his life's

ambitioiL The story is a painful one, though this is not the place for a
, len^ened homily thereon. But though the doom of the mature statesman
, was tragic, no shadow darkened the path of the aspiring student. At Eton,

Canning gave more than promise ; he was already an author. With the
, aid of John Hookham Frere and other friends he established the Micwcosmf
' to which his own contributions were conspicuous for that refined taste, that

elegance, that delicate irony, which afterwards were the characteristics oi \
( his oratory. When the Etonian Plutarch is written George Canning and ^

the Marquis Wellesley must stand side by side.

* Sir Henry Wotton, Robert Boyle, his pupil, tells us, '* was not only a

fine gentleman himself, but very skilled in the art of making others so.''

* It is reported of the Duke, that on revisiting the college of his youth in
after years, when his fame as warrior and politician filled the earth, he
declared that it was at Eton he acquired the lessons which enabled him

B

so The Great Schools of England.

In science Eton has reared William Oughtred ; Hales,
the " ever memorable " : Robert Boyle, Sir Henry Sayille,
and Sir Joseph Banks. In general ITterature, Edward Hall,
the Chronicler ; Sir Thomas Sutton, the benevolent founder
of the Charterhouse; Horace "NYalpole;^ Henry Fielding, the
unrivalled Novelist ; Jacob Bryant ; Sir James Macdonald,
— the Scottish Marcellus; George Stesxejts, the Commentator
on Shakespeare ; Richard Porsonj* and HenryHallam.*

to conquer at Waterloo. The great soldier was not much addicted to
senlimentalism ; and the saj-ing is therefore the more remarkable. This
is not the place to expatiate on the character of this famous man, but it
may be permitted to say, that with a will of iron, with a sense of duty
to which all personal ambition was subordinate^ the Duke of Wellington
possessed qualities which inspire admiration rather than attachment Still
how much sterner and more frigid might he not have been if his residence
at the Military School at Angers had not been preceded by his residence
at Eton ! For aristocratic as Eton may be, it has nevertheless popular
elements to which no merely military school can make pretence. The
child is father to the man, and the Duke is reported to have been even
^ at Eton somewhat of a fighter. One of his battles with " Bobus," an

I /^ elder brother of Sydney Smith, lives still in the annals of Eton pugilism.

^ ^ Horace Walpole, like his father, had the advantage of Etonian training ;

but in spite of his father's example, instruction, and influence, it was not in
politics that he shone. Yet his political life, if not striking, was pure and
patriotic. As a dilettante, curious though Strawberry Hill and its collection
may have been, he would not have been known beyond his own generation.
As a dramatist, a novelist, a miscellaneous author, he would have survived
for a generation or two. As a writer of memoirs he would occasionally
have been consulted by future historians. As a writer of letters, however,
he is immortal. His lettera are models of wit, shrewdness, and vivacity ;
and they furnish the freshest, the most captivating pictures of contemporary
ndividuals and circumstances that we possess.

' The honour of having educated Richard Porson would of itself confer
mperishable renown upon Eton College. He was more than a brilliant
and profound scholar ; he was a true English soul, with all the manliness of
which true English are proud. He had his failings, his weaknesses, but
they were amply atoned by his largeness of nature, his frankness, his un-
selfishness, and his generosity. Even if we weigh Porson impartially in
the balance, it should not be in a Puritanic balance ; we should consider
his fulness of animal power, his athletic build, his social warmth, the freer
habits of the age in which he lived — his struggles and his temptations.

' A native of Windsor, it followed naturally that Henry Hallam should
be Etonian. A learned, enlightened, acute, impartial man, Hallam has

]

Eton, 51

** Haunt of the Muses ** is no vague compliment when applied
to this favourite school. Honest Tom Tusser^ heads the
band ; succeeded by Giles and Phineas Fletcher ; Edmund
Waller ; Broome i Gilbert West ; Littelton ; Gray ; *

produced thxee works which, if they do not flame with genius, have
supplied a want. His book on the "Middle Ages," his "Constitu-
tional History of England,*^ and his "Introduction to the Literature of
Europe in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Serenteenth Centuries,*' are highly
meritorious woika.

With a path prosperous, peaceful, and honoured beyond that of mortals
generally, Hallam was in one thing singularly unfortunate : his children
were successively torn from him just when their ardent and ebullient youth
gave promise of the brightest future. His son, Arthur Henry Hallam,
lives with a half tragic, half angelic beauty in Tennyson's In Memorianw

^ WeU known or, at least, best known, by his homely georgics, called,
" Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry." Tusser was at Eton about
1533* ^^'^ ^c afterwards wrote a quaint, lively autobiography in rhyme,
wherein he complains —

" From Paul's I went, to Eton sent.
To learn straightways the Latin phrase.
Where fifty-three stripes given to me

At once I had ;
For fault but small, or none at all.
It came to pass, thus beat I was.
See, Udall, see, the mercy of thee

To me, poor lad ! "

> A fellow-student of Horace Walpole both at Eton and Cambridge,
Gray became his intimate, and the two friends were travelling companions
on the Continent There they quarrelled and separated. Subsequently
Walpole took the blame of the affair upon himself, and Gray and he
were reconciled. It is interesting to knpw that the fiist poem by Gray
which attracted notice, was his Ode "On a Distant Prospect of Eton
CoU^e.'* Timid, sensitive, and with a tinge of melancholy, Gray
delighted in the luxury of bookish indolence, and was possessed of little
Uteraiy ambitioaZLHis ideal of Paradise was lying day by day upon a sofa,
reading the best and most exciting novels of the hour ; still this indolence
did not hinder research in manifold directions. Gray was an ardent
archaeologist, and his zeal in this absorbing walk left him taste and time
for botany and zoology. His profound knowledge of ancient and modem
languages was varied by an acquaintance with architecture and heraldry.
He had planned an edition of Strabo, and had accumulated a mass of geo-
graphical materials for the purpose. His notes on Plato and Aristophanes

£ 2

52 77U Great Schools of England.

Richard Owen Cambridge ; Christopher Anstey, Author ot
the celebrated " New Bath Guide ;" Percy Bysshe She^j^y ;
William Mackworth Praed ; Chauncy Hare Townshend ;
John Hookham FRERE^^^nd John Moultrie.

reached a range and loftiness few scholars have attained. He was an
exquisite poet, an accomplished critic ; and his letters are among the best
in our language!^ Chateaubriand has said, that the beginning of the Elegy
written in a Country Churchyard, is an almost literal translation of some
lines by DanteTj But when Chateaubriand further states that Gray was the
first of that school of melancholy poets which has been transformed in our
own day into the school of poets of despair, he forgets two things — first,
that English poetry has usually been reflective, and that the reflection often
inevitably becomes the sombre and the sad; secondly, that Young, a
predecessor of Gray, had in his Night Thoughts exhibited infinitely more
gloom than Gray, even when the latter was in his most mournful moods.

^ The productions of Frere, in the Microcosm^ were insignificant But
when Canning having studied at Oxford and Frere at Cambridge, the two
schoolfellows met ; and when the ancient friendship was new-hearted by
]X)litical sympathies, Frere approached nearer to a poetical equality with
the rising orator in the House of Commons. Many of the keenest satirical
effusions In the Anti-jMobin were his. As a diplomatist he did not perhaps
transcend mediocrity, but his scholarship and humour were both genuine.

He was a frequent contributor to the Quarterly Review, In 1817, the
appearance of his Whistlecraft is stated to have stiggested to Lord Byron
that mode of poetic composition he successfully adopted in Beppo^ in
the Vision ofjudgment^ and in Don Juan, Attracted by the climate and
by the associations of Malta, Frere spent his latter days in that island,
busying himself in translating Aristophanes, Hesiod, Callimachus, and
Theognis. His extensive and ungrudging charities made him beloved,
and he died in a good old age.

Eton, 53

CHAPTER IV,

SPECIAL RECOMMfeNDATIONS OF THE ROYAL

COMMISSION.

Present Governing Body and Educational Staff.

In addition to the General Recommendations of the Com-
missioners for the improvement of our great Schools — all of
which, in their opinion, are applicable to £ton — they add,
among others, the following special recommendations for the
future management of this College : —

That the governing body of Eton College should consist of
a Provost and fourteen Fellows, of whom five should be
stipendiary, and nine honorary.

That the Provost should be nominated by the Crown, and
be a graduate of Oxford or Cambridge, of the degree of M.A.
or some higher degree, thirty-five years old at the least, and
not necessarily in Holy Orders, and that he should have an
annual stipend of 2,000/. and the house which is now assigned
to the Provost

That the Provost of King's for the time being should be ex
officio one of the nine honorary Fellows of EtoiL

That the other honorary Fellows should be persons qualified
by position or attainments to fill that situation with advantage
to the School ; that they should be entitled to no emoluments,
and not required to reside. Three of them should be nomi*
nated by the Crown, and should be graduates of Oxford or
Cambridge, and the other five should be elected by the whole
governing body.

That the five stipendiary Fellows should be elected by the
whole governing body; that tyexy person so elected should

5+ ^^ Great Schools of En^nd,

either have obtained distinction in literature or science, or
have done long and eminent service to the School as Head
Master, Lower Master, or Assistant Master ; that not less than
three of them should be in Holy Orders ; and that each of the
stipendiary Fellows should have a fixed stipend of 700/. per
annum, and a house or lodgings within the College.

That the Provost should be relieved from the spiritual
charge of the parish of Eton, and that the parish should be
constituted a distinct vicarage in the gift of the Provost and
Pellows, and endowed with an annual sum of 600/., which
should be a charge upon the revenues of the College.

That the Provost and Fellows should procure, as they may
think best, the services of singing-men for the College Chapel;
but that provision should be made out of the College funds
for the maintenance of an adequate number of choristers or
singing-boys to belong solely to the Chapel.

That such boys should have a general School education,
musical teaching, and moral superintendence provided for
them according to the best examples of the Cathedrals, to-
gether with an annual allowance in food and clothing, or in
money, and should at the proper age be apprenticed to some
trade, or receive some fair equivalent out of the College funds.

That no ecclesiastical preferment in the gift of the College
should be tenable with the Provostship, nor with a stipendiary
Fellowship.

That the practice of granting beneficial leases should be
discontinued as speedily as the means at the disposal of the
College will permit, and that all fines which may be received
hereafter should be brought into the general accounts of the
College.

That in elections to College all local preferences should be
abolished; that no boy should be deemed disqualified on
account of ill^timate birth or of any bodily imperfection ;
that longer notice should be given before each election ; that
such notice should state the subjects of examination, and
should give information as to the value of a scholarship ; and
that the scholarships should be awarded according to one

Eton. 55

scale of merit, by one examination, to which no boy should be
admitted under the age of eleven nor over that of fourteen.

That all payments by Collegers for instruction and tuition
of every kind (except for voluntary extras) should be abolished;
that the yearly payment of five guineas to the College for
attendance, &c., should also be abolished ; that tea, sugar, and
washing should be supplied to them at the expense of the
College ; that their diet should be more varied ; and that such
services at dinner in Hall as are now performed by fags should
be performed by servants.

That the School Council (General Recommendation VI.)
should consist of not more than fifteen members, and should
comprise a certain number of the Classical Masters engaged
in each part of the School (including one at least not having
charge of a boarding-house), a certain number of the Mathe-
matical Masters, and some of the Teachers of Modem Lan-
guages and Natural Science ; and that in the absence of the
Head Master the Lower Master should preside, if present.

That the number of boys (including Collegers) in the Upper
School should never exceed 650,* and that the number in the
Lower School should never exceed 150.

That the Head Master should keep an admission-list, upon
which the names of candidates for admission as Oppidans
into the Upper School should be entered in the order in
which applications are received; no boy's name, however,
being entered until he has completed his eighth year ; that, as
vacancies occur in the School, they should be offered in suc-
cession to the boys on the list, no distinction being made
between boys who may happen to be in the Lower School and
others. That it should be optional with each boy whether he
will present himself as a candidate for examination at once, or
wait for another vacancy; but that each boy who presents
himself should be examined, and, if found unfit to enter the
part of the School for which his age qualifies him, should be
placed at the bottom of the list; and that no boy*s name
should be retained on the admission list after he has completed
his fifteenth year.

$6 The Great Schools of England.

That no boy should be admitted into the Upper School
under the age of eleven, nor above that of fourteen.

That a separate admission list should be kept by the Lower
Master for the Lower School ; that boys in the Lower School
should have no preference, in respect of admission to the
Upper, over boys from other places of education ; that they
should be required, before entering the Upper School, to pass
the same examination as boys from other schools, and should,
like them, be placed in any part of the Upper School for
which they may be found qualified.

That the number of boys in a division should not, as a general
\| rule, exceed thirty.

That the system under which the School has provided books
specially designed for Eton, should be discontinued.

That the whole of the classical course and the books used
in the School should be carefully revised.

That the work of all the Forms and Divisions should be
arranged with the special view of providing that the boys' work
may become more difficult in just proportion to their rise in
the School, and that, amongst other provisions to be made for
this purpose, the time of a boy should not be too long or too
exclusively devoted to the same author.

That the amount of repetition should be diminished, and
that the system of construing the School-work with the Tutor
before doing it in School should be abolished.

That, subject to the foregoing provision for diminishing
the quantity of repetition there should be introduced occa-
sional and careful recitation of choice passages of Latin and
Greek prose, and of English poetry or English prose.

That a larger amount of translation from English into Latin
and Greek verse and prose should be introduced; that the
amount of original composition in these two languages should
be diminished; and that some part of the original composition
in them should be exchanged for translations into English,
both oral translation (as distinct from construing) and written,
find that in estimating the merit of such translations due regard
should be paid to the correctness and purity of the English.

Eton. 57

That the period during which each boy studies Natural
Science as a regular part of his schoolwork should, at the
least, not be less than the interval between admission to the
Lower Fifth and admission to the Upper Fifth ; and that the
teaching of drawing or music shotdd continue, at the least,
until admission to the Lower Fifth. {See General Recom-
mendation XII.)

That any boy who is studying French should be allowed, if
he pleases, to take up German also as an additional subject at
trials, and vice versd, and that the same liberty should be
allowed with respect to Italian, and also with respect to Natural
Science in parts of the school where it does not enter into the
regular schoolwork ; and that the marks obtained for any
additional subject so taken up should be allowed to count in
determining the boy's place in his remove.

That the scheme of work in the Lower School should be so
arranged as to allow rather more time than at present for exer-
cise and relaxation in that part of the School

That at least once a year some of the more important school
examinations should be wholly or in part conducted by Exa-
miners unconnected with the School; that such Examiners
should not be necessarily Etonians, and should be paid a
reasonable remuneration out of the School or College funds.

That prizes should be instituted for original composition on
given subjects in Latin prose and verse, and in English verse ;
and that the prize compositions, together with the Richards
prize compositions, should be publicly recited, and the prizes
themselves actually given, before the whole School and such
visitors as may be collected for the occasion.

That it is desirable that a certain number of exhibitions
should be founded, to be competed for by boys under the age
of sixteen, tenable as long as the holder remains at school ;
and that Oppidans alone should be aUowed to stand for these
exhibitions.

That these exhibitions should be attainable by superior
merit in any of the branches of instruction (other than music
and drawing) forming part of the regular course of study, but

58 77u Great Schools of England.

that not less than half of the whole number of them should be
reserved for classics ; and that a detailed scheme concerning
them should be framed by the Provost and Fellows.

That, if possible, the number of such exhibitions should be
not less than twenty/ and that the Provost and Fellows should
create, as they may find it practicable to do so, by means of
the Instruction Fund, so many of them as shall not be esta-
blished by private benefactions.

That all Scholarships, Exhibitions, Postmasterships, and other
such pecuniary emoluments now given to Etonians by nomi-
nation for their maintenance at any College at either Univer-
sity, should be awarded by competitive examination, subject
(as to the emoluments to which those restrictions or any of
them apply) to the existing restrictions in favour of sons of
clerg3rmen or others not in affluent circumstances, and to sons
of clerg3rmen or of widows with laige families ; provided that in
any case in which it shall be proved to the satisfaction of the
Provost and Fellows that peculiar hardship results from the
above regulation to any boy who, but for its operation, would
have been eligible for one of the above Exhibitions, they
should have a discretionary power to dispense with it.

That where more than one such Scholarship or other emolu-
ment above mentioned are supplied out of one endowment, the
Provost and Fellows should have power to combine several
emoluments into one, or divide one into two or more, as they
may deem most conducive to the interests of the School

That where any such Scholarships or emoluments are now
awarded to Etonians who have ahready left school, they should
be henceforth awarded to boys quitting the School

That where any such emoluments are supplied from funds
not held by or for any particular College, it should be in the
power of the successful candidates to hold them at any College
at either University.

That in consideration of the changes recently effected as to
the method of awarding King's Scholarships at Eton and
Scholarships at King's, whereby Collegers at Eton cease to owe
their superannuation for King*s to accident and ill fortune^ all

s

Eton. 59

such Scholarships, Exhibitions, and Other emoluments as are
now awarded to Collegers who have not obtained King's
should be henceforth open to the competition of all Eton boys.
Oppidans as well as Collegers^ not being Scholars of King's ;
and that in all cases it shall be in the power of any Colleger
at Eton to offer himself as a candidate for such emolument in
lieu of offering himself for a Scholarship at King's, if he shall
think fit

That in the competitive examinations for King's Scholar-
ships and Exhibitions at Eton, Scholarships at King's College,
Cambridge, and other Scholarships and emoluments at the
Universities hereby opened for competition to Oppidans and
Collegers, it is desirable that the several studies of the School
should affect the success of the candidates in the same manner
and degree in which in the School examinations they are allowed
to affect the places of the boys in their removes.

That the time-table or arrangement of the hours of the
classical work should be recast on the principle of equality
and uniformity between the several weeks of each school-time ;
that to this end the due number of hohdays and half-holidays
should be fixed irrespective of Saints' days, which should only
be observed by their proper religious service in chapel, except
in the case of Ascension Day, which is the only one of the
great Church festivals which can occur during the school-
time.

That there should be a daily morning Service in the Chapel
in lieu of prayers in the boarding-houses, not exceeding in
length a quarter of an hour, and fixed by the Provost and
Fellows ; that the choral or musical element should be intro-
duced into this Service.

That, except on Ascension Day, the boys should never be
required to attend any afternoon Chapel Service on week-days.

That all the Masters and Assistant Masters of the School in
Holy Orders, as well as the Fellows, should have the oppor-
tunity of occasionally preaching, if they are willing to do so, in
the College Chapel.

That permission to keep a boarding-house should in future,

6o 7^ Great Schools of England. .

as vacancies occuTy be granted only to Classical and Mathe
matical Masters.

That boarding-houses kept by Masters in the Lower School
should be confined to boys in the Lower School, and that boys
in the Lower School should be admitted into such boarding-
houses only

That the Assistants in the Mathematical School should be
entitled Mathematical Assistant Masters ; and that, as r^ards
the assignment of boarding-houses, the authority to enforce
discipline out of School, the arrangements in Chapel, and, so
far as may be practicable, in all other respects, they should be
placed on a footing of equality with the Classical Assistant
Masters.

That every Mathematical Master should be considered the
Tutor for general superintendence of all the boys in his
boarding-house.

That, in applying to Eton the General Recommendations
XXVI. — ^XXVIIL, the payment to be made to or retained by
the Tutor for the private tuition of each of his pupils should
be distinct from the payment to be made to him as an Assistant
Master in the School; and that the aimual payment to be
made by the College for the instruction of each Collier should
be 25/.

That no extension of the holidays should be ever allowed,
except in obedience to Royal command or upon sanitary
considerations.

That the system of '^ shirking" should be abolished

GOVERNING BODY OF ETON IN 1865.

iV<WK>j/— Rev. Charles Goodford, D.D.
yice-Pnnwst-^Kev. Thomas Carter, M.A.

J^ellcws,

Rer. G. J. Dupuis, M.A. Right Rev. Bishop Chapman, D.D.

Rev. J. wader, M.A. Rev. W. A. Carter, M.A.

Rev. E. Coleridge, M.A Rev. W. L. Elliot, M.A.

Stmardofthe Courts— T. Batchddor, Esq.

Eton,

6x

EDUCATIONAL STAFF OF ETON IN 1865.

Head Master — Rev. Edward Balston, M.A.

Ltnoer Master — Rev. Francis Damford, M.A.

Assistant Masters of the Upper Schooi.

Rev. J. K Yonge, M.A.

W. Johnson, M.A.

Rev. J. L. Joynes, M.A.

Rev. C. WoUey, M.A.

Rev. W. Wayte, M.A.

Rev. R. Day, M.A.

Rev. C. 'James, M.A.

Rev. £. Stone, M.A.

Rev. F. St John Thackeray, M.A.

Rev. H. Snow, M.A.

E. Warre, M.A.
O. Browning, M.A.
J. T. Walford, M.A.

F. W. Comish, M.A.

E. C. Austen-Leigh, M.A.
Rev. G. R. Dnpuis, M.A.
A. C. Ainger, B.A.
H. W. Mozley, B.A.

Assistant Masters of the Lower School,

H. £. Luxmore, B.A.

Rev. N. L. Shuldham, M.A.

Rev. I. W. Hawtrey, M.A.
Rev. W. L. Hardisty, M.A.
Rev. A. C. James, B.A.

Mathematical Assistant Master — Rev. S. T. Hawtrey, M.A.

/r

Assistants in the Mathematical School,

Rev. G. Frewer, M.A.
Rev. F. J. Ottley, M.A.
Rev. E. Hale, M.A.

Mr. H. Tarver, Frettch,
Mr. F. Griebel. German,
Signer Volpc, Italian.
Mr. S. Evans, Drawing.

E. P. Rouse, M.A.
Rev. T. Dalton, M.A.

Extra Masters,

Mr. J. Foster, Music,
Mr. Angelo, Fencing,
Mr. Venua, Dancing,

62 The Great Schools of England.

WINCHESTER.

'' MANNERS MAKYTH B(AN."

CHAPTER L— HISTORICAL.

'* Four hundred years and seventy -one their rolling course have sped,
Since the first serge-clad scholar to Wykeham's feet was led ;
And still his seventy faithful boys, in these presumptuous days,
Learn the old truth, speak the old words, tread in the ancient ways ;
Still for their daily orisons resounds the matin chime, —
Still linked in holy brotherhood, St Catherine's steep they climb ;
Still to their Sabbath worship they troop by Wykeham's tomb —
Still in the summer twilight sing their sweet song of home."

Sir Roundell Palmer.

I^ETTERS revived in Europe during the eariy part of the
fourteenth century j Dante, Petrarch, and Boccacio, heralding
their day-dawn — ^^Jam lucis orto sideri^ — ^the benign radiance
spread from Italy to England, shining at first with flickering
and uncertain beams in Gower and in Lydgate, but with meri-
dian splendour in Chaucer, Occam, Longlande, and Wyckliffe.
All these men, as their natures varied^ aimed stinging sarcasins
or stem anathemas against the gross and manifold corruptions
of the Church of Rome. The hierarchy — then both our eccle-
siastical and civil rulers — cool, waiy, and sagacious, laboured
rather to direct than stem the ever rising and often turbulent
current of public discontent; it was not until a succeeding
age that a legislative spoliation, that kind of root-and branch
reform which stripped the church of —

" all the temporal lands which men devout

By testament had given **

was staved off for a century by the policy of Archbishop
Chichele.

Winchester. 63

The victories of Edward III., which won him glory through-
out all Christendom, and lost him territory throughout all
France, had been succeeded by the just retribution of unjust
wars, sore famine and wide-wasting pestilence. The nation
keenly felt, if they could not clearly reason out, their grievances,
and the hero of Crescy was at once embroiled with a discon-
tented laity and an* overweening clergy. It was somewhat
earlier than this period that, a.d. 13241 in a ytry humble
homestead, a few miles from Winchester, Williaoi of Wykeham
was bom. He was the son of John and Sybill Longe.' His
father, like the sire of Hugh Latimer, was a yeoman or small
farmer ; his mother of gentler blood : and the boy appears to
have inherited the shrewd common sense and aptitude for
worldly business of the one parent with the higher aspirations
and the more refined tastes of the other. His early education
is said to have been due to the discerning patronage of Sir
Nicholas Uvedale, lord of the Manor of Wykeham, and con-
stable of Winchester Castle, who put him to school at a little
seminary which tradition tells us stood on the very spot where
the future archbishop and chancellor built his noble College.
According to some later writers, Wykeham removed from
Winchester to Oxford, and continued at the University three
years ; but chroniclers nearest his time afford no authority for
such a statement Chaundeler, who was Warden of New
College and Chancellor of the University of Oxford, about fifty
years after the death of Wykeham, says as much as that he never
studied at any University. If, however, he had not enjoyed
the advantages of what in those times was called a learned
education, he warmly loved and munificently fostered learning.

^ "Aliciam dnxit Wilhelmus Bowade in uxorem, de qua habait filiam
nomine Sibillam, quam Johannes Longe duxit in uxorem, ex qua procreavit
filium nomine Wilhelmum Episcopum Wint" &c. Tractatus in Veteri
Registro Coll^i IVintoniensis. The pedigree whence this passage is
extracted is of some authority, having been drawn up in the next age to
that of Wykeham himself; but, in the opinion of many writers, there is
reason for supposing that •* Wykeham" was not merely a casual name
taken from the pUice of his birth, but was the surname of his family.

64 The Great Schools of England,

When, on his nomination to a bishopric, he was reproached
with his deficiency in scholarship, he is reputed to have re-
plied— " I am unworthy, but wherein I am wanting myself,
that will I supply by a brood of more scholars than all the
prelates of England ever shewed."

From school he appears to have passed into the service of
his patron, Sir Nicholas Uvedale, by whom he was employed
in the architectural repairs and alterations of Winchester Castle,
and when about three-and-twenty years of age he was intro-
duced to Cpurt, and became surveyor of the works at Windsor.
^ In this capacity he designed and re-erected Windsor Castle
almost as it now appears. He built Queenborough Castle — so
named in honour of the good Queen Philippa — " for the strength
of the realm and the refuge of the inhabitants ;" and it is be-
lieved that Winchelsea, Porchester, Dover, and many other
strong-holds upon our southern coast, owed their fortifications
and stability to his genius and indefatigable energy. So well did
he acquit himself in these employments, that he attained a high
place in the favour of the king, who for years continued to invest
him with dignities^ civil and ecclesiastical, in boundless pro-
fusion. He was elevated to some of the highest secular offices
in the realm, and his preferments in the Church kept pace with
his advancement in the State. His influence with the king, too,
was stronger and more enduring than that of any other person.
On this point the testimony of Froissart, at that time residing in
the English Court, is remarkable — " There was a priest about
the kynge of Englonde, called Syr Wyllyam Wycam, who was
so greate wyth the kjmge, that alle thynge was done by hym,
and withoute hym nothing was done."

In 1366, upon the death of William de Edyn^don, Wykeham
was raised to the See of Winchester, and in the year following,
'' being now qualified by his advancement in the Church to
receive the highest dignity in the State," ^ he was made Lord
Chancellor. In 137 1, the Lords and Commons, in the Par-
liament of that year, represented to the king that the govern-

> Lowth's IJfi of Waiiam of Wyktham.

Winchester. 65

ment of the kingdom had been for a long time in the hands of
men of the Church, by which many mischiefs had in times past
happened, and more might happen in times to come, &c.; they
therefore petitioned that secular men only might occupy the
principal offices of the king's court and household, and none
of the clergy. Although he declined to grant their request,
so as to make a law in consequence of it, the king shortly after
resolved to comply with the prayer of the petition. On the
T4th of March, accordingly, the Bishop of Winchester delivered
up the Great Seal, which was transferred to Sir Richard de
Thorpe,^

Relieved in some measure by this step from the anxieties
of State affairs, Wykeham appears to have devoted himself with
increased diligence to the duties of his episcopal function. He
thoroughly repaired the various castles and manor-houses, to-
gether with the parks, granges, warrens, &c. belonging to the
Bishops of Winchester, all of which his predecessor had suffered
to fall into decay. He held three several visitations of his
whole diocese; and sent commissioners well instructed in
remedies for the reformation and correction of the abuses which
he had discovered during these visitations. At the same time,
he seems to have formed the plan of those noble foundations
at Oxford and Winchester upon which he had determined to
bestow the bulk of his abundant wealth. In pursuance of his
design, he purchased ground at Oxford for the site of his
College there, and supported a Grammar School at Winchester
preparatory to the erection of Winchester College, the intended
nursery for that of Oxford.*

1 Lowth'8 Life of William of WykAam,

' According to some authorities, the School on the site of the present
College was in existence almost from the period of the introduction of
Christianity into Britain, and was that at which Ethelward, the studious
son of Alfred the Great, received his earliest education. At all events, a
school was in existence, it appears, at Winchester long before the time of
Wykeham. On this point Dr. Milner observes :— *' In the age succeeding
the conquest we have positive proof of there being a large Grammar School
at Winchester, as the first founder of St Cross^ Henry de Blois, in the
constitutions which he drew up for it, directed that thirteen of the poorer

F

66 The Great Schools of En^and.

While engaged in these useful and benevolent occupations,
Wykeham became the object of an attack, organized against
him by a party formed at Court, which subjected him to cruel
humiliation, and threatened to effect his utter ruin. He was
impeached for alleged malversation in office, and misapplica
tion of the public revenue. Of aU the charges brought against
him he was in substance fully acquitted ; yet such were the
power and malignity of his enemies, that in consequence of a
technical error in the drawing up a licence of feoffment — with
which he most probably had no more personal concern than has
a modem Chancellor in a mistake made by the office copying*
clerk who transcribes his judgments — ^his temporalities were
adjudged to be seized into the king's hands, and he was for-
bidden, in the king's name, to come within twenty miles of the
Court.1

For a time the triumph of Wykeham's enemies was com-
plete ; but it was not of long duratioiL Upon the accession
of Richard II. the injured prelate was freely absolved, his
temporalities were restored, and he received a charter of full
and entire remission, concluding with this honourable testi-
mony to his integrity: — "Although we have granted to the
Bishop of Winchester the said pardon and grace ; nevertheless,
we do not think the said Bishop to be in any wise chai^eable,
in the sight of God, with any of the matters thus by us par-
doned, remitted, or released unto him, but do hold him to be
as to all and every of them wholly innocent and guiltless."

sort of scholars belonging to the said school should receive their daily
victuals from that foundation." In all probability this was the school
frequented by Wykeham in his early youth, and which in 1373 he took
into his own hands, paying the salary of the master, Richard de Herton,
whom he had chosen to manage it, and providing the scholars with lodging
and board until his projected College was ready to receive them.

^ It cannot now be doubted that the accusations originated in the resent-
ment of the Duke of Lancaster, who, having an eye to tlie throne, and
knowing Wykeham's steadfast adherence to the then dying king, to the
great Prince of Wales, and to the lineal succession, was determined to
prevent the Bishop's nomination as one of the guardians of the young heir
presumptive.

Winchester. ^ 67

When restored to rank and reputation, Wykeham applied
himself more fervently than ever to the accomplishment of his
great project — the erection and endowment of those twin
Colleges which have rendered his name imperishable. His
design was as original as it was noble. '' It was no less than
to provide for the perpetual maintenance and instruction of two
I hundred Scholars ; to afford them a liberal support, and to leac}
■ them through a perfect course of education ; from the first
elements of letters, through the whole circle of the sciences ;
from the lowest class of grammatical learning to the highest
degrees in the several faculties. It properly and naturally
consisted of two parts, rightly forming two establishments, the
one subordinate to the other. The design of the one was to
lay the foundations of science, that of the other to raise and
complete the superstructure; the former was to supply the
latter with proper subjects, and the latter was to improve the
advantages received in the former." ^

His attention was first directed to the building of his Oxford
College, the society of which he had established some years
before the foundation stone was laid. For, as he began at
Winchester, by forming a preliminary Grammar School with
proper Masters, and maintained the same number of Scholars
which he proposed to educate in his College ; so at Oxford,
at least as early as 1375, he had formed a similar institution,
consisting of a Warden and seventy Fellows, under the title
" Pauperes Scholares Venerabilis Domini WUkelmi de Wykeham
Wynton. Episcopir

In the year 1379, having completed his purchases of land at
Oxford, he obtained the KLing's Patent to found his College ;
and on the fifth of March, 1380, the foundation-stone of
" SeinU Marie Colle^ of Wynchestre in Oxenford^^ was laid.

The year after he had finished " The New College," as it
was, and still is, usually called, at Oxford, he obtained the
necessaiy licence for erecting his preparatory school at Win-
chester. Here, in the ancient capital of the Briton, the Saxon
and the Norman, he had purchased, two years after his elevation

1 Lowth's Ufe of William of Wykeham.

F 2

onTJ
ion I

68 The Great Schools of England.

to the episcopal seat, certain lands from the Prior and Convent
of St. Swithin, consisting of a messuage attached to Burner's
Mede, about an acre and a half in extent, and Otterboume
Mede, three acres. The first stone was laid on the 26th of
March, 1387 ; — ^within six years from that time, St. Mary's
College of Winchester was ready for the reception of the
Society; and the Scholars, who had previously been lodged
in St. John Baptist's parish on the hill, on the 28th of March,
1393, took possession of their new home. The original
Foundation was for a Warden, a Head Master, a Second
Master, ten Fellows, seventy Scholars, three Chaplains^ three
Clerks, and sixteen Choristers. Dr. Milner, following Harps-
field, imagines that the Warden and ten Fellows were in-
tended to symbolize the College of Apostles, Judas being
excluded. The seventy Scholars and two Masters were typical
of the seventy disciples, according to the " Vulgate ; " the
three Chaplains and three Clerks represented the six faithful
deacons (Nicolas having become an apostate), and the sixteen
Choristers stood for the four greater and twelve lesser prophets.
On September 9, 1400, the oaths of the Warden, Fellows,
Chaplains, and Scholars for the observance of the statutes
drawn up by Wykeham were received by the Commissioners,
and forty years later the regulations prescribed for New
College, and Winchester, by the yeoman's son, were adopted
by King Henry VI. for the government of Eton College and
King's College, Cambridge.^

Wykeham lived for many years after the completion of his
two Winton Colleges, and enjoyed the supreme delight of
seeing them increase in fame, and continually bring forth
those good fiiiits for which they had been established.
Having finally settled aU his temporal and spiritual concerns,
and being fiilly eighty years of age, he awaited resignedly the
hour of dissolution, which came upon him about eight o'clock

^ This is a drcumstance of which Wykehamists are justly proud. There
is an old story of a Wykehamist boasting to an Etonian that Winchester
Xi was th« "mother " of Eton. •' Yes," was the reply, " Matre pulchrfl, filia
pulchrior/'

Winchester. 6$

in the morning of Sati!irday, the 27th of September, 1404.^
He was buried, according to his directions, in the beautiful
Chantry which he had built for himself in Winchester Cathedral
many years before, on the spot where, when a schoolboy, it
was liis custom daily to perform his devotions.^

The name of this excellent and eminent man is so in-
separably associated with his two famous seats of learning, and
they form such towering monuments of his beneficence, that,
in contemplating them, we are apt to overlook the rare ability
and princely liberality he displayed in other works. His
services in the re-erection or restoration of Windsor, Dover,

> IxmWi's Life 0/ WUliam of Wyktham,

* The following biographical dironology of this admirable person may
not be out of place : — Bom at Wykeham, Hants, 1324 ; introduced at
Court at twenty *three years of age, 1347 ; Surveyor of the King's Works
and Castles, 1356 ; Justiciary of the Royal Forests, 1360 ; Keeper of Privy
Seal, 1364; President of the Council, 1365 ; Bishop of Winchester, Oct
10^ 1366; Chancellor of England, 1367; Resigned this office, March I4,
1371 ; Winchester School established, Sept I, 1373; Laid the first stone
of New College, March 5, 1380; First Stone of Winchester College laid,
March 26, 1387; Chancellor of England again. May 4, 1389; Resigned
this office^ Sept 20^ 1391 ; died in his 8ist year, Sept 27, 1404.

\ The wise old man is gone I
I His honoured head lies low,

And his thoughts of power are done,

And his voice's manly flow ;
And the pen that, for truth, like a sword was drawn.
Is still and soulless now.

The brave old man is gone !

With his armour on he fell ;
Nor a groan nor a sigh was drawn,

When his spirit fied to tell ;
For mortal sufferings, keen and long,

Had no power his heart to quell.

The good old man is gone !

He is gone to his saintly rest,
Where no sorrow can be known.

And no trouble can molest.
For his crown of life is won,

And the dead in the Lord are blest — Doanb.

70 The Great Schools ofEn^nd,

and other castles have been mentioned. We find, from his
history, that, besides these works, he nearly rebuilt, at his own
cost, the grand nave of Winchester Cathedral ; re-edified
churches; repaired high roads, causeways, and bridges; that
he revived the discipline and stimulated the devotion of the
numerous clergy of every denomination in his diocese; re-
covered the celebrated Hospital of St Cross from the rapacity
of its successive Masters, and restored it to its first charitable
intention ; paid the debts of insolvent prisoners ; maintained
twenty-four poor persons daily as a part of his own family;
and, in a word, performed so many great actions, that his
panegyrists are at a loss whether to admire him most as a
statesman, as a bishop, or as a Christian.

The repeated visits of Henry VI. to Winchester have been
alluded to in the account of Eton College. The first occasion
of his going there was probably to seek the advice of his
great-uncle, Cardinal Beaufort, how to release himself firom
the vassalage in which the Duke of Gloucester held him, and
to make peace with Fmnce. His main business, however, at
this time was to observe the economy, discipline, and plan of
studies established by Wykeham in the Collie, that he might
form another upon the same system near his palace at Windsor.
He visited the city again in 1442 ; and a third time in 1444,
when the Earl of Suffolk, as his proxy, was contracting the
marriage between him and Margaret of Anjou. On this
occasion he confirmed all the privil^es of the College, and
having assisted at the solemn mass and vespers, performed
on the festival of St Cecily, gave a sum of money for the
decoration of the high altar. His next progress to Winchester
was in the following year, for the purpose of meeting his
newly married queen; when he presented to the College his
best robe but one, lined with sable. One visit was with the
object of honouring the instalment of Bishop Wa3mflete in the
Cathedral of Winchester. The day after this solemnity he
assisted at the high mass performed at the College, where,
besides his customary offering, he gave to it a chalice of gold,
and ten pounds for the purchase of two golden cruets for the

Winchester. 71

use of the altar, and a sum of money for the students. His
last visit took place in 1449, when he held a Parliament and
made a stay of many weeks.

In i486, after the birth of Prince Arthur in WinchestCTJ
Castle, Henjy VIL visited the College, as in 1522 did Henry I
VIIL and the Emperor Charles V. For two years under the \
reign of the rapacious despot, Henry VIII. who had seized I
much of the property belonging to it, the College was in /
imminent danger of dissolution; but upon the accession of I
Edward VI. its charter of privileges and immunities was J
confirmed.

In 1554? on the occasion of their marriage in the Cathedral,
Mary and Philip were received at the College and attended
solemn service in St Mary's Church; and in 1570 Queen
Elizabeth followed the example of her Royal predecessors.
On this visit it was that the Queen, pleasantly asking one of
the Scholars whether he had ever endured the famous Winton
birch, received the happy response : —

4 " Infandom R^^ina, jubes renovare dolorem." 1

THE BUILDINGS.

Winchester College stands a little without the city, on the
south side, in a street which bears its name. The northern
front extends eighty-three yards along College Street^ having on
the west a number of spacious buildings appropriated to Scholars
who are not on the foundation. On the east a considerable
branch of the dear and swift river Itchen passes through the

^ From its foundation to the end of Charles II. 's reig^ all the English
Sovereigns, with the exception of Queen Mary, confirmed the charter of
Winchester College. Henry IV. issued letters patent granting permission
for the purchase of various manors. Alien priories being dissolved by 2nd
of Henry V., the Priory of St Mary's, Andover, a ceU of the abbey of St.
Florence, at Saknur in Anjou, was given to the College, as likewise were
two cells of the Cistercian Abbey of the Holy Trinity, atTirone, in France,
and St. Cross^ in the Isle of Wight, and the Priory of AndeweU, near
Basingstoke.

72 T^ Great Schools of England.

Warden's garden close to that end of the front The south
side is open to the College meadows and the valley through
which the Itchen takes its course to Southampton.

The College consists of two courts, lying north and south of
each other, having cloisters and a school-room beyond them.
We enter the first court by a gateway under a spacious tower,
in the face of which is a niche containing a statue of the Viigin
Mary, to whose honour the institution was dedicated. On
passing through the gateway, or entrance tower, we come upon
the Warden's house on one side, and on the other upon the
buildings originally used as workshops ; the brewery, bakery,
and other offices from which the wants of the inmates could be
supplied without communication with the outer world.

The middle tower over the gate which leads into the exterior
court is ornamented with three beautiful niches. In the centre
niche stands the statue of the Virgin, and on one side the Angel
Gabriel ; on the other, the founder. Entering the second court
under the gate tower, the visitor is struck with the elegance and
uniformity of the ancient buildings with which it is surrounded*
On each side of the gateway and on the whole eastern side of
this magnificent quadrangle are the chambers of the scholars,^
and over them suitable apartments for the Fellows. On the
west are the kitchen and offices ; while the whole south side is
formed by the stately chapel and hall, which, with their oma-

^ There is a painful tradition connected with the badge of a red hand in
one of the dormitories known as the Seventh Chamber. It is called
The Red Right Hand ; and the story runs that once upon a time two
brothers, scholars, slept there, oyer whom a savage prefect exercised a cruel
severity. Goaded to madness by the oppression which he and his brother
were subjected to, the elder boy determined on the death of their tyrant.
Arming himself wit^ a dagger, he one night made his way to the monitor's
bed, and struck the knife three times fiercely into the sleeper's breast A
cry arose, and when light was brought the agonized boy discovered that he
had slain his brother, who had that night been compelled to change his
sleeping place with their persecutor. Mr. Mackenzie Walcott, in his
valuable history of Wykeham and his CoU^es, throws some suspicion on
the anecdote by remarking that the memorial was probably the badge of
some baronet, a former scholar.

Winchester, 73

mented buttresses and richly mullioned windows, are the delight
and admiration of every visitor of taste.

Passing through the chapel porch, which faces the middle
gateway, we enter the cloisters at the north-west comer. These
cloisters are more elegant and decorated than those of the sister
College of Oxford. They form a perfect square of 132 feet,
and are divided into nine compartments on each side, with
buttresses between. " Here passed the stately procession on
high days, sweeping by with hymns, and silver cross and burn-
ing incense ; here the attentive scholar sat at his master's feet
during the heat of summer, in the refreshing coolness of its
shade ; here the pensive student mused or read, when winds
w^ere high, sheltered from the storm ; here were celebrated the
last obsequies of the departed."*

The Chapel is approached through a vestibule under the
refectory. It has beep renovated within the last century and a
half, but a portion of the reredos, " where holy Henry knelt,"
exists to the present day. This chapel is an excellent specimen
of Gothic architecture, and is deservedly celebrated for the
beauty of its proportions. The ceiling, which is wood wrought
in imitation of stone, is handsomely executed, and presents a
very rich appearance. On the great eastern window of stained
glass is represented the genealogy of our Saviour. In the
centre is the Crucifixion, and, in the highest panel of all, the
Resurrection. The other windows are filled with the figures of
saints, kings, bishops, priests, together with the inscription —
" Orate pro anima Wilhelmi de Wykeham fundataris istius Col-
legit" A valuable acquisition to this beautiful chapel is the
altar-piece, representing the Salutation of the Virgin, by Le
Moine, a present from Dr. Burton, a former Head Master.

On entering the ante-chapel at the right hand side is seen
the memorial raised by old Wykehamists to thirteen officers,
their school-fellows, who fell in the Crimea. It consists of five
floriated arches divided by shafts of red marble. On the panels
within are the names of the deceased, and above the shafts of
the columns are angels bearing shields, severally inscribed with

^ Mackenzie Walcott*a WiiUam of Wykthofn and his CoU^es,

74 ^^ Great Schools of England.

the moral virtues. The inscription on the monument is simple
and afifecting : —

This Porch has heen repaired and heautified by William of Wykeham's
Sons, as a sacred shrine in which the memories of their 13 brethren who died
in the war of the Crimea, 1855, may be preseved as an example for future
generations.

Think of them, thou, who art passing by to-day.
Child of the same family, bought by the same Lord ;
. Keep thy foot when thou goest into this House of God ;

>^ There watch thy armour and make thyself ready by prayer
To fight and to die
The faithful soldier and servant of Christ,
And of thy country.

He is not a God of the dead but of the living, for all turn unto Him.

The Hall, or Refectory, forms a continuation of the
line of building of the chapel, and is ascended by a flight of
steps. This is a grand example of an old collegiate or baronial
halL It is no less than sixty^three feet in length, thirty feet in
breadth, and proportionably lofty. There are fixed tables
and benches along the sides ; at the upper end is a dais, or
elevated platform, for the high table ; ^ and at the lower end,
but separated by a screen, is the buttery-hatch, within which
are the stairs leading to a spacious vaulted ceUar, the roof
of which is adorned with elegant groinings, and supported by
a single {Hilar. The fine oaken roof of die hall, supported
by carved ribs and corbels, representing kings and prelates
alternately, was restored during the present century.

After descending from the hall, the visitor's attention is
directed to a curious wall-picture, representing a Hircocervus^
or animal compounded of man, hog, deer, and an ass, which

^ The graces at dinner in Hall are musical, and are those which were in
use before the Reformation. These graces are always sung at the annual
Wykehanusts* dinner, London, and, with the grace-cup, is given Dr. Hajres's
three-part-gh

Let onmibus Wiccamissis in a bumper now go round,
We'll wave our bonnets, boys, unto the ground.

Winchester, 75

is explained in some Latin verses at the side to be the allegory
of a trusty servant}

The College Library was originally a chantry, founded by
John Fromond, a man of great consideration, and a generous
benefactor to both Wykeham's Colleges. By his will he made
provision for the perpetual endowment of a chaplain to officiate
here. Upon the suppression of chantries at the Reformation,
this chapel ceased to be used in conformity with the intention
of its founder, and for many years it remained void and neg-
lected. In 1629, by the liberality of Dr. Pincke, at that time
Warden of New College, Oxford, it was converted into a library*
It contains not a few rare MSS. Missales, Graduales, Libri
Sententiarum, and Ptocessionales, liber Vocatus, ^' Auriola
Biblise, libellus quidam de significatione quarundum dictionum
Bibliae,** many Moralia Chronica, Antipbonaria, and the like
curiosities of bibliography, purchased by the founder in his
lifetime, or for the School by his executors soon after his
decease. Most of these date very early in the fifteenth century,
and all, or nearly all, before the introduction of printing into
England. To these succeeding benefax:tors have added a
laige collection as well of ancient as of modem literature.

The School, which stands in a fourth coiut, used zs a play-
ground, is a comparatively modem structure, the ancient
school, wherein Waynflete taught, and which the founder called
" Magna ilia domusj' having been the room now nam^ " The
Seventh Chamber," and the adjoining passage. The first stone
of the present structure was laid in 1683, and the building,

^ The descriptiTe lines have be«n Englished thus :—

" A trusty servant's pictue would you see^
This fignie well survey, whoe'er you be.
The porker's snout not nice in diet shows &
The padlock shut, no secret he'll disclose y
Patient, to angry lords the ass gives ear ;
Swiftness on errand, the stag's feet declare;
Laden his left hand, apt to labour saith ;
The coat his neatness ; the open hand his faith ;
Girt with his sword, his shield upon his arm.
Himself and master he'll protect from harm.**

76 The Great Schools of England.

a very handsome one, was finished in 1687, at a cost of
2592/. i8j. 3^., of which sum Warden Nicholas paid 1477/. i is, 9^.
Over the entrance, which faces the south side of the hall, is
an excellent metal statue of Wykeham, by C. G. Gibber, with
an inscription in Latin.

The interior of the room is spacious and finely proportioned,
being ninety feet by thirty-six, and of suitable height The
cornice is decorated with the armorial bearings of noblemen,
prelates, and others who contributed funds for the erection of
the building. On the right is a tier of seats, occupied at Gom-
moners' Speaking by the Warden, Sub-Warden, and Head
Master. At each side of the School are three tiers of fixed
seats, where the boys sit when "up to books." Disposed
along other parts of the room are ranges of oak benches, or
tressels, upon which stand the boxes, or " scobs," that form a
desk, and also a receptacle for keeping books and writing
materials. On the west wall, upon a large tablet, are painted
a mitre and crozier, to represent the rewards of clerical
learning ; a pen and inkhom, and a sword, the insignia of civil
and military pursuits, and a long Winton-rod, typifying the
punishment of those too indolent to devote themselves either
to study or to active life. Beneath each emblem is the appro-
priate legend, "Aut Disce;" "Aut Discedej" "Manet

SORS TeRTIA GiEDI." ^

At the north end of the School we see inscribed, after the
style of the Duodecim Tabula^ the rules for the conduct of the
students, which, as having been drawn up probably by Wyke-
ham himself, in conjunction with his admirable Statutes of the
College, are very interesting : —

" Tabula legum Padagogkorum.
" In Templo. — Deufl colitor. Preces cum pio animi affectn penguntor.
Oculi ne vagantor. Silentium esto. Nihil profanum legitor.

"In SchoiJL— Diligenti& quisque utitor. Submiss^ loquitur secum.

1 " Either learn ; or depart hence; the third choice is to be chastised, " Or,
as it has been jocosely rendered : —

" Study hard, or else be jogging,
Or you'll get a plaguy flogging. " '•^

Winches Ur. 77

Claii ad Pneceptorem. Nemini molestus esto. Orthographic^ scribito.
Anna Scholastica in promptu semper habeto.

"In AuLJL — Qui mensas consecrat clar^ pronunciato. Casteri icspon-
dento. Recti interim omnes stanto. Recitationes intelligenter et apte
distingatmtor. Ad mensas sedentibus omnia decora smito.

"In Atrio. — Ne quis fenestras saxis pilisve petito. iEdifidum neve
inscribendo. Neve insculpando deformato. Neve operto capite, neve sine
Socio coram magistris incedito.

"In Cubicuus. — Munda omnia sunto. Vespere studetor, Noctu
quies esto.

*'In Oppido ad Montem. — Sociati omnes incedunto. Modestiam
prae se feninto. Magistris ac obviis Honestioribus Capita aperimitor. Vultus
gestnsy incessus componuntor. Intra terminos apud Montem prsescriptos,
quisqne se contineto.

**lN Omni Loco et Tempore. — Qui Plebeius est, Prsefectis obtem.
perato. Qui Praefectus est, legitime imperato. Is Ordo vitio careto:
cateiis specimteesto. Uterque k pravis omnibus verbisq : factisq : abstineto.

" HaeCy aut his similia, qui contr^ £axit, se quand6 deferantur, Judicia

*' Ferns exactis Nemo domi impun^ moratur. ExtWi Collegium absque
venii exeuntes Tertii vice expellimus."

78 Tke Great Sehooh of England.

CHAPTER IL

STATISTICAL AND MISCELIANEOUS.

I. Constitution of the College, — ^Winchester College, as we
have seen, was founded in 1387. The original constitution
was a Warden, 10 Fellows, 70 Scholars, a Head Master (Infor-
mator), an Under Master (Ostiarius), 3 Chaplains, 3 Clerks
{ix, singing men), and 16 Choristers. The future constitution,
as regulated by an Ordinance of the Oxford University Commis-
sion, which took effect in 1857, is to be a Warden, 6 Fellows,
100 Scholars, ao Exhibitioneis, a He&d Master, an Under
Master, 3 Chaplains, 3 Clerks, and 16 Choristers.
r II. Endowments^ Revenues^ &»c. — ^The endowments of the
/ College consist of divers manors, farms, lands, houses, tithes,
I manorial rights, and funded stock, producing on an average of
I seven recent years a gross annual income of 15,494/. 17^. 6d,
\ The College holds besides, on special trust for exhibitioners and
I other purposes, the sum of 60,132/. with land which produces
la net income of 204/. 14s, iid,

^ College Livings, — ^The benefices in the gift of the College are
thirteen : —

One is under loo in yalae.

Ta)o are over 100 and not exceeding aoa

Six are over 200 ^- „ 30GL

Otu is over 300 „ „ 40a

7W are over 400 „ „' 50a

One is over 500 t» i» 600.

There is no statute regulating the distribution of the eccle-
siastical patronage of the College. The livings are commonly
given to the Fellows or others connected with the Foundation.

\

^»^

Winchester. 79

III. The governing power of Winchester College is vested in
the Warden and Fellows.

Under the original statutes no person was eligible to the
Wardenship unless he either were or had been a Fellow of
Winchester, or of New College, Oxford. This restriction was
removed by the Oxford University Commission in 1857 ; the
qualifications of a candidate now are, that he should be a Gra-
duate in Theology or Law, or a Master of Arts in Priesfs Orders,
and not less than thirty years of age. The right of election rests
with the Fellows of New College ; but if they fail to exercise it
within one month of the time when a vacancy in the Warden-
ship occurs, the privilege lapses to the Bishop of Winchester.

The Warden has by the statutes the general government of
the Foundation, and was until recently prohibited from being
absent more than two months in the year. He is now, except
in case of sickness, to be resident in the College during eight
months in each year. His duties resemble those of a " Head
of a House " in a University. He is to have pre-eminence and
authority over all Members of the Collie whatsoever, whether
Fellows, Masters, Chaplains, Scholars, &c., and is to govern
and direct them in conformity with the statutes and regulations
of the College in force for the time being.

His ancient statutory emoluments, in addition to a suitable
provision for his table, not limited in amount, were a stipend
of 20/. a year and twelve yards of cloth at is. Sd a yard.
His present average income, including allowance for servants
according to the Statutes, is estimated by the existing Warden
at 1,700/.

7^ Fellows^ who are required to be in Priesf s Orders, are
elected by the Warden and Fellows of Winchester College,
and the preference given by the original Statutes to those who
are or have been Fellows of New Collie is extended by
the Ordinance of 1857 "to the Master, Usher, and Assistant
Masters of the School at Winchester College for the time
being, and to those who shall have filled any of the said
ofiices, and to those who shall have been educated for two
years at the said School." The Fellows are the Trustees of the

8o The Great Schools of England.

property of the College; and from them are chosen a Sub-
warden, two Bursars, one Sacrist, and the Librarian. The
provisions of the ancient Statutes regarding the residence of
the Fellows were repealed by the Oxford University Com-
mission in 1847, and now, practically, with the exception of
the Bursars, they are non-resident The annual stipend of a
Fellow was 5^ a year, six yards of cloth,^ and twelve pence
weekly for commons. Their allowance now, independent of
College livings, is said to average 550/. per annum each ; great
part of which, like the income of the Warden, appears to be
derived from the fines received on renewal of leases of the
College estates, which were let at old reserved rents.^

IV. The Head Master and Under Master are the only
statutable Masters ; of the others we shall speak when treating
of the School. These Masters are conductitii and remotivi by
the Warden and Fellows. According to the statutes, the Head
Master must be sufficiently learned in grammar, and a man of
exemplary life. He is to instruct the Scholars in grammar,
and to exercise a carefril supervision of their conduct . and
morals, and to punish them when necessary.^

The Under Master is to possess the same qualifications as
the Upper Master, and to act by his direction.*

V. The Choristers were placed by the statutes upon a lower
level than those of Eton and Westminster. They were to be
admitted out of considerations of charity, — ^^ intuitu charitatis^'

1 According to Walcott, the Warden received twelve yards, the Fellows
and the Head Master eight jrards, a Chaplain six, and the Ostiarius five.

' Report of the Public Schools Commission^ 1864.

s " In grammatic& sufficienter eraditus, habens docendi peritiam ; vir bonse
famae et conversationis, condnctitiui ac etiam remotivus, per cnstodem et
socios ipsins coUegii ordinandus seu providendus, qui scholares dicti coUegii
in grammatidl assidu^ instruat, et infonnet, ac eis diligenter intendat,
ipsorumqae vitam et mores attentius supervideat ; et eos drca ipsorum
doctrinam desides, negligentes seu alias diliquentes, absque petsonarum
acoeptatione, sea aM partialitate quftcunque corripiat et debite puniat,
et casttget**

4 •( Vir bonae famae, et conversationis honestae, qui praedicto magistro
praesenti, in praemissis assistat, et in ejus absentiH ipsius in praedictis omnibus
vices fuppleat et gerat"

Winchester. 8i

to make the beds of the Fellows, and help to wait in Hall, and
to live upon "fragments and relics" of the Fellows* and
Scholars' tables, if these were sufficient for them ; if not, they
were to receive proper nourishment at the expense of the
College. They are boarded, lodged, educated, and at a suit-
able age apprenticed, at the cost of the Foundation.^

VI. The Scholars^ in conformity with the old statutes, are
elected by the Warden, Sub-Warden, and Head Master of Win-
chester College, associated with the Warden and two Fellows
of New College, Oxford The original qualifications, preferences,
and restrictions were substantially the same as at Eton, to
which the Winchester regulations were transferred, except that
boys bom out of wedlock, or in serfdom, were not excluded,
that a preferential claim was given to boys of the kindred of
the Founder, and that, instead of the local preference afforded
by Eton to two counties, a like preference was at Winchester
given to the diocese of Winchester in the first place, and then to
eleven counties concurrently. By an Ordinance of the Oxford
University Commission in 1857, the preference of Founder's kin
and all the local preferences were abolished, and no candidate
is to be ineligible on the ground of any bodily imperfection
which might incapacitate him for holy orders, nor by reason
of any restriction on account of property or pecuniary circum-
stances contained in the old statutes, but the electors may
refuse to admit as a candidate any one whom they may deem
to be not in need of a scholarship. Under the same Ordinance
a boy who has attained the age of fourteen is no longer
eligible.^

Until 1854, the Scholars were nominated without a com-
petitive examination ; in that year the system was exchanged
for open competition. The change, according to Dr. Moberly,
the present Head Master, who at first opposed it firom appre-
hension of its bringing undesirable boys, has been eminently
beneficial. " Of old," Dr. Moberly remarks, " we had a small
connexion, and a considerable narrowness in the system alto-

^ Report of the Rcyal Commissumers,
* Ibid.

G

<

8a The Great Schools of En^and.

gether. We were comparatively poor in boys. This open
competition, brings boys of all abilities, of all families, from all
parts of the country, and so spreads our connexion very widely."
By the ancient statutes a Scholar was allowed &/. a week for
commons, and was supplied with a piece of cloth sufficient to
make a long gown and hood, to be worn for the first year only
on Sundays and holidays. The Scholars were to sleep in the
\ rooms on the ground floor, beneath the chambers occupied by
the Fellows. Until the sixteenth century they slept on bundles
of straw, in chambers without flooring. The luxuries of bed-
steads and flooring were the provision of Dean Fishmonger, a
Wykehamist, whose memory is still cherished with gratitude
at Winchester. In the early part of the seventeenth century
a Scholar paid on his entrance, among other things, for his
bedding, viz, : —

s. d,

30 lbs. of flocks (for the bed) 150

A coverlid ro o

A pair of blankets no

3 3rards of tick for bolster 40

Making tbe bed, bolster, and blankets 12

He paid for his surplice, i/. os. 5//. ; for his " scob," or box, to
hold his books, 3^. 6d. ; to his predecessor for glass windows,
IX.; and for learning to write, 14s. The condition of the
Scholars has been much ameliorated since those times. A
Scholar, according to the evidence given before the Public
School Commissioners, is now well boarded, lodged and edu-
cated without any expense to his parents beyond the payment
of 3o«. a year to the French Master (with an additional two
guineas per annum if he learn German), and, if he is not a
prefect, a further payment of two guineas to his " Boy Tutor."

VisiTORiAL Authority. — ^The College may be said to have
two Visitors. The Society of New College, Oxford, as repre-
sented by the Warden, and two Fellows elected for the purpose,
hold what is termed a " scrutiny " every year at the election in
July, when an opportunity is afforded to all members of the
College to make complaints. The boys, elder and younger, are

WinckesteK 83

examined separately, and questioned as to their diet, comforts,
&c &c The Bishop of Winchester is also a Visitor, open to
hear any appeals regarding the management of the establish-
ment By the 37th clause of the Oxford University Commis-
sioners* Ordinance, the Visitor is empowered to hold a visita •
tion whenever he thinks proper, or, without holding a visita-
tion, to require answers in writing touching any matter about
which he may deem it necessary to obtain information.

THE SCHOOL.

The statutes of Winchester College show that the founder
contemplated the admission of other boys, sons of nobles and
great men, special friends of the Institution, y^iV nobilium et
valmiium personarum dicti Colhgii specialium amicorum, to be
educated within the College, but without charge to its funds.
Their number was limited to ten, and by the old accounts ot
the College it appears that they paid for their commons or
board, but not for their instruction. This privileged class is
regarded as the forerunners of the present Commoners or non-
foundation boys. At what time Commoners ceased to board
within the College walls does not seem to be known.^ Their
number is no longer limited, and they board, some with the
Head Master, and the rest in the houses of what are called
''boarding tutors." At the present time the School is com-
posed of—

Scholars 70

Commoners 173

243

1 It would seem that in 1607 they boarded in the College, and from the
following order by Archbishop Bancroft, it is clear they at that time had
encroached upon the privilege accorded them of receiving a gratuitous
education, and were livings like the Scholars, on the revenue of the
foundation —

" 20/ That forasmuch as the commoners ought not by the statute to be
burdensome to the college, they shall eveiy one of them hereafter pay for
their commons four shillings by the weeke, in the same manner that the
iprmer weekly summes for their commons were paid." — WalcoU.

G a

84 ^^ Great Schools of En^and,

Admission to the School. — Foundationers excepted, there is

no preliminary examination before admission to the School, but

if a boy is sent to School whose attainments are not sufficient

to enable him to join the lowest classes with good prospect of

/advantage, he is not received To Commoners there are no

(limits of age, and there is no regulation as to the highest form

I in which a boy can be placed on his admission. As a rule,

I boys rarely come at an earlier age than eleven, or so late as

I sixteen, and a Scholar stays on the average five years and a

I Commoner three or four.

^ Arrangement of the School — ^The arrangement of forms (or
'' books," as they are termed at Winchester) and subnlivisions
of forms is as follows : —

Senior Division,
unior Division.

Sixth Form (or Book) j ^*^

( Junii

, f Senior Part c Senior Division.

Fifth Book ) Middle Part. ^^^?' ^7^!^!^

ruwiiHXJK. . . . ^ ( Senior Division.

( Junior Part ( Junior Division.

Fourth Book

jSeni
1 Juiiit

Senior Division,
unior Division.

There being no lower forms, the whole School is thus dis-
tributed into eight ascending divisions. Of these, the three
first, numbering in all seventy-five boys, are nominally under
the Head Master, but practically he takes chaise of the first
and third divisions, and an Assistant has almost exclusive chaige
of the second. This arrangement, however, is disapproved of
by Dr. Moberly, the present Head Master, and will probably
be modified. The Fourth, Fifth (the Middle Part only) and
Sixth Divisions are under the Second Master, the Junior Part
of the Fifth under the Third Master, and the Seventh and
Eighth are assigned to the Fourth Master.

The School hours on whole School days are — Morning
School, firom 7 to 7.30 ; Middle School, from 9 to 12 ; Evening
School, from 3 to 6.

Government of the School. — ^As at Eton, the general govern-
ment of the School is entrusted to the Head Master, subject to

^^w

Winchester. 85

the supreme control of the Warden, or of the Warden and
Fellows, by whom he, as an officer of the College, is appointed
and may be removed. Some difference of opinion appears to
prevail between the present Warden and the Head Master, as
to the extent of the former's authority in School matters. The
Head Master admits that the Warden and Fellows have a legal
supremacy in the management of everything connected with the
College, but that they have no statutory power over the Com-
moners. " They are my own boys ; still, being supreme over
the Scholars, as it is but one School, he gets an indirect supre-
macy over the Commoners as well, so that even in Commoners
I should never think of doing anything remarkable without
consulting the Warden, and ascertaining his wishes about it"^
The Warden, on the other hand, regards the Commoners as the
successors of the ^ii nobiliumj and has no doubt that the
governing body would have a statutory right to interfere in
questions of discipline with the Head Master's government of
non-foundationers as well as Scholars. This system of double
govenmient may be tolerable while the Warden and Master
work imicably together, but it is very desirable that the extent
of the control which the Warden and Fellows are legally entitled
to exercise should be clearly defined

Emoluments of Masters, — The ancient statutory emoluments
of the Head Master were a stipend of 10/. a year, with the
same commons and the same allowance of cloth as a Fellow,
and he was to be lodged with the Usher in one of the upper
rooms — a Fellow sharing it with them, should that be necessary.
The whole emolument which he actually received fi-qm the
Collie until about three years ago was r5o/. It is now 300/.
He has a large house, erected about twenty years smce, in sub-
stitution for the ^' Old Commoners' " building, and intended for
150 bo3rs, but only capable of holding, according to present
estimates of necessary air and space, about 100, in addition to
his own family. This house he occupies rent free, subject, how*
ever, to a yearly payment to the College of 350/. as interest at 3}
per cent on a sum of 10,000/. advanced by the College towards

^ Evidence of Dr. Jifoberly, before the Commi^sionen on Public Schoola..

86 The Great Schools of England.

the cost of building it, after a laige, but insufficient, sum had
been raised by voluntary subscriptions. His profits from his
boarders — of whom the number has been variable, but which in
future he proposes shall not exceed loo— he estimates at fh)m
20/. to 25/. per annum each. He also receives 10/. lox. for every
Commoner out of his house, and 450/. annually from the God-
dard Fund.* Out of the entrance fee paid by each fresh boy in
his house he is accustomed to retain between 6/. and 7/. ; and
for each fresh boy in the other boarding-houses he receives 3/. 3X.
from the boarding Master. On the whole, when the School is
prosperous, his net income amounts to about 3,000/.

The statutory stipend of the Ostiarius or Usher, now called
the Second Master, was five marks, with a shilling a week for
commons, and five yards of cloth every year for a gown. He
receives at present 200/. annually from the College, 300/. from
the Goddard Fimd, and 6/. 8^. from every Commoner in the
School. He has also 2/. 2X. for each new boy. In all, his
emoluments are from 1,400/. to 1,500/. a year. He has also a
set of rooms in College.

The College pa3rs also 210/. a year to the Mathematical
Master for the mathematical teaching of the scholars, and 200/.

The origin of this fund is somewhat curious. The statutes of Win-
chester, like those of Eton, stringently prohibit the Master and Usher from
*' exacting, asking, or claiming^" any pa3rment for instruction from the
Scholars, their parents, or friends. It nevertheless became the practice at
Winchester to insert a chaige of 10/. in the bills of each Scholar for
" masters' gratuities," with the words " if allowed" parenthetically added
against the item out of respect to the statutoiy prohibition. This chaige
was in part found necessary to eke out the scanty pittances which the College
paid to the two statutory masters, and it was seldom objected to until, in the
mastership of Dr. Goddard, an appeal was made against it to the Visitor.
The Visitor decided that it was saved by the words in parenthesis from
being an actual charge, and was not therefore illegal. Dr. Goddard, who
was Head Master from 1793 to 1810^ received this money during his tenure
of office, but he felt that, if not illegal, the item was moraHy questionable,
and after his retirement he made a voluntary gift to the college of 25,000/.
stock, interest to pay the dividends to the Head and Second Masters for the
time being. The former now receives from this source annually 450/. and
the latter 300/. From that time no chaige has been made for the instruc-
tion of the Scholars except in the case of modem languages.

Winchester^ 87

a year for what is termed a " College Tutor." It pays likewise
a Lecturer on Natural Science, to whose lectures the Scholars
and exhibitioners are admitted free* Such Commoners as desire
Co attend the lectures are charged a fee of i or. a quarter.

The other Masters are remunerated out of tiie payments
made by boarders not on the foundation ; the Modem Lan-
guage Masters being paid, as has been akeady stated, by the
Scholars also, for any instruction which the latter receive in
this branch of knowledge. For the rest of the classical staff,
10/. a year are paid by the Head Master for each boy in his
house, and i^ 45. are paid for each boy in every other boarding-
house; 2L i2x« ttL are also paid on the same accoimt on the
entrance of each new boy into the Head Master's house, and
x/. for each new boy on his entrance into any other boarding-
house. For the Mathematical Masters, 3/. are paid on account
of eveiy Commoner in the School, and the Head Master
likewise pays 50/. a year to a Mathematical Assistant To the
French Masters i/. lox. are paid for every boy in the School,
and to the German Masters tL 2s. extra, by those who learn
Gennan.

Course of Study, — ^The curriculum at Winchester is mainly
classical, and the rising of a boy in school rank depends
principally upon his classical attainments. Among the^ tra-
ditional peculiarities in classical teaching at Winchester, one
is the system, called '' Pulpiteens," of assembling periodically
all the boys of the first three divisions, for construing lessons
in Homer, Virgil, and Horace. The IVefects read out and
construe about a hundred lines of one of these authors. When
the seniors have construed each as many lines as the Head
Master chooses they depart, and the other boys are called up
to construe the same passages. It is a veiy old practice, but
not a very serviceable one, and has lately been almost abolished.
Another peculiarity— originally, however, introduced by Dr.
Arnold, at Rugby — is the custom of writing a Latin epigram
thrice a week, called a '' Vulgus." The Head Master sets the
subject, and the boys produce next morning six lines of
elegiac verse on it as cleverly as they can. A third, recently

88 The Great Schools of En^and.

abolished, was that of devoting a week or ten days in the
summer to what is called '' standing up." This practice con-
sisted chiefly in repeating portions of Greek and Latin Grammar,
and in repeating and construing quantities of Latin and Greek
verse or prose which the boy had been able to store up in his
memory. In ^'standing-up week '' one lesson of English verse
and one of Euclid were allowed to be taken up.

An institution may be noticed here which is also a peculiar
feature of Wmchester — ^that of " Boy Tutors." Each of the
ten senior boys in College has assigned to him some of the
juniors as pupils. His province is to supervise and coirect
a part of their exercises before these are shown up, and if a
pupil is unable to do his lessons, to assist him. He is re-
sponsible also, in some measure, for their general conduct
and diligence, and is the person of whom the Head Master
would make inquiries if he had reason to think that any of
them were not behaving properly. For each pupil under his
charge the ^ Boy Tutor" receives two guineas a year from the
pupil's parents. This institution is supposed to have originated
in a provision of the Founder's statutes, that " to each Scholar
of his own kindred there should always be assigned, by the
Warden and Head Master, one of the discreeter and more
advanced Scholars, to superintend and instruct them in
grammar under the Head Master all the time that they
should remain in the College." Each of these instructors
was to receive for each pupil 65. %d. a year out of the funds
of the College. The functions of the "Boy Tutor" were
much circumscribed about twenty-six years ago by the appoint-
ment of the College Tutor, or Scholars' Composition Master
— a change introduced by the then Warden on the advice
of the Second Master, the present Bishop of St. Andrew's,
who had been educated at Harrow, and against the opinion
of Dr. Moberly, then, as now. Head Master. Formerly the
Boy Tutor took all the compositions of his pupils ; now he
takes only a small part of them. Dr. Moberly regrets the
older system, and thinks that much has been lost by its modifi-
cation. Private tuition, in the ordinary sense of the words.

Winchester, 89

was until recently quite unknown at Winchester. At present
three of the Masters — the Head Master's Assistant, the Fourth
Master, and the Mathematical Master — take a few private
pupils. Scholars and Commoners, each of whom pays 5/. for
the half-year, and works with his tutor from two to three
hours a week. Dr. Moberly attaches great value to private
tuition, and is very desirous of seeing the system, which is now
only partially adopted, carried into general operation.

Arithmetic and Mathematics, — Both Mathematics and Arith-
metic are taught in every division of the School, and the
amount of time allotted to them, especially in the upper part
of it, is unusually great Seven or eight hours a week are
devoted to these subjects by the first three divisions; and
three or four hours by the rest of the School Into the
aggregate of the weekly marks a certain number for mathe-
matics is allowed to count, in the proportion of about one-
fourth of the weekly total.

History, — Neither ancient nor modem history is taught at
Winchester in set lessons. Questions in portions of English
history, specified beforehand, are set in the general half-yearly
examinations lately instituted, and in the examination for the
Goddard Scholare^ip. There is a prize also of 5/. a year
founded by Mr. Duncan, called the Historical Essay Prize,
for which the boys take pains ; but the study of history and
geography is still insufficiently provided for.

Modem Lcmguages, — ^There are two French Masters and a
German Master at Winchester, and every boy, as previously
noticed, is compelled to learn either French or German during
the whole time that he remains at School The marks for
these languages, however, count only in the proportion of
one-eighth in the weekly total, so that it is not surprising if
the attainments of the boys in French and German are not
remarkable.

Natural Science, — In 1856, the Oxford University Com-
missioners for Winchester College, being of opinion ''that
good elementary instruction in physical science is most
essential in the case of many bo3rs^ desirable in all cases,

go The Great Schools of Errand,

and pexfectly compatible with a first-rate classical education/'
proposed that three of the Fellowships should in future be
filled up with especial reference to the excellence of the can-
didates in one or more of the Natural Sciences, and that the
Fellows elected to those Fellowships should be bound to give
lectures to the boys in that department of knowledge. The
Warden and Fellows of the College thought, however, that
instruction in the various branches of science of a higher
kind, and more in unison with the annual progress of science,
could be obtained by engaging the best lecturers of the day
in the various branches of science to visit Winchester, and
give to the Scholars successive courses of lectures. The Com-
missioners, in reliance on the College acting on this system, or
one equally efficient, agreed to abstain from pressing their own
proposition; but the plan which was subsequently pursued
consisted simply in having a course of ten or twelve lectures
on some branch of natural science delivered once a year, in
sunmier. At the present time, in deference to the opinion of
the Public Schools Commissioaers, that the amount of in-
struction in Physical Science given at Winchester College did
not appear to satisfy the requirements of the Oxford University
Commissioners' Ordinance, instruction in this branch of know-
ledge is continued throiighout the School year, and the boys
are examined after each course of lectures.

Music and DraTving. — There is no provision for the tuition
of music ; but boys desirous of learning it can take lessons
fi-om teachers in the town. A drawing-master attends the
School, who has usually about twenty pupils.

Recitation. — One practice in vogue at Winchester deserves
especial commendation, that of public speaking. During
'^ Easter time/' which lasts six weeks, the greater part of the
School being divided into six chambers, each chamber speaks
upon its own Saturday morning. The Masters take their seats
in the School, and from twenty to twenty-five boys deliver
speeches extracted chiefly from Shakespeare or Milton. After
that, one day is set apart, and the residents of the town and
neighbourhood are invited to hear speeches recited by about

Winchester, 91

twenty chosen boys. At the Election recitations there are also
two speeches, for which medals are given ; and an annual
prize is also presented to the boy who reads aloud best

Promotion, Exhibitions, Scholarships, &*c. — The system of
promotion at Winchester di£fers essentially from that at Eton.
At Eton a boy rises in the School chiefly by seniority; at
Winchester, his elevation is determined by his success in an
incessant competition, in which every lesson and every exercise
counts for a certain numerical value, and which never pauses
or terminates till he i& landed on the Sixth Fornix Places are
taken in every division below the Sixth Form, and each boy
receives for every lesson a number of marks, answeriiig to the
place he holds in the division at the end of the lesson. Thus,
if he is twentieth from the bottom, he receives twenty marks.
Marks ar« likewise given in the mathematical and modem
language classes, but the number of marks which can be given
for a mathematical or for a French lesson is limited to a
maximum supposed to represent roughly the estimated im-
portance of each of those studies compared with classics. The
highest marks which a good mathematician can gain are one-
fourth, the highest that a good French or Gennan scholar can
gain are one-eighth, of the grand total. At the end of every
week the marks gained are added up, and the same thing is
done at the end of every month. This, record of each da/s
progress is called the " Classicus paper," and the promotion of
each boy, at the end of a half-year depends on the number of
marks he has obtained in his " Classicus paper " during that
half-year.

New College Fellowstiips and Sqhol^ships are^ of course,
the main incentives to exertion with the Wykehamists. There
were formerly seventy Fellowships at New College^ to which
Scholars of Winchester were exclusively eligible. By the
Ordinance framed for the former Collie by the Oxford Uni-
versity Comnxissioners ifx 1857, these have been converted
into thirty Fellowships .and thirty S<^olarsbips, the latter
tenable for five years. The Scholarships are open to all boys
educated at Winchestcri vhethei: Scholars or Commoners.

g2 . 7^ Great Schools of England,

One half of the Fellowships are to be open, the other hail
confined to those who have been educated for at least two
years at Winchester, or have for twelve terms been members of
New College. Winchester possesses also twenty Exhibitions
of the value of 50/. each, tenable as long as the exhibitioner
remains at School.

It has, besides, the Goddard Scholarship of 25/. a year,
gained by proficiency in classics, divinity, and English history,
and tenable for four years ; two mathematical Scholarships, one
for the upper and one for the lower part of the School ; two
gold medals given annually by the Crown for compositions in
Latin verse and prose; two silver medals for elocution in
Latin and English ; prizes by the College for Greek iambics
and Latin verse ; and prizes by Lord Saye and Sele to the two
boys in each class who obtain the largest aggregate of marks
in the half-year.

In addition to these incitements to industry, there are two
funds of considerable amount for supporting at the University
certain poor and deserving Scholars who have been super-
annuated without election to New College. One of these, the
^' Bedminster Fund,'' consists of the accumulated profits of a
copyhold estate, and now produces a yearly income of 468/.
The other, which goes by the name of the " Superannuates'
Fund,'' originated, in 1750, with Dr. Dobson, Warden, and
Mr. C. Eyre, Second Master ; it has been greatly increased by
subscription, and jrields about 400/. per annum. Out of the
income of these funds it is the custom to give Exhibitions of
varying amount (the highest being 50/. per annum) tenable for
four years at any College in Oxford or Cambridge. These
Exhibitions are not gained by examination, but are given by
the Warden, Head Master, and Second Master jointly.

Monitorial Powers. — ^The monitorial system, which exists in
full vigour at Winchester, may be traced to the statutes
framed by William of Wykeham himselfl *' In each of the
lower chambers let there be at least three Scholars of good
character, more advanced than the rest in age, discretion, and
knowledge, who may superintend their chamber-fellows in

Winchester. 93

their studies, and oversee them diligently, and may from time
to time certify and inform the Warden, Sub-Warden, and
Head Master, respecting their behaviour and conversation, and
progress m study." (Rubric xxxiv.)

There were six chambers, and therefore eighteen " Prefects."
The eighteen chamber-prefects still exist ; of these, eight have
power only in the inner quadrangle; the remaining ten have
power everywhere ; and five of these ten, called " Officers," are
invested also with special authority, and have charge respec-
tively of the Hall, the Schoolroom, the Library, and the Chapel.
The Prefect of Hall is the chief of these five ; he is " the
governor of the School among the boys," and their oigan of
communication with the Head Master. All the Prefects,
except the five and the ten respectively, obtain their positions
by seniority ; the five officers are chosen by the Warden, with
the advice of the Head Master. The " Officers " have command
over the whole School, those Prefects, who are not officers,
only over the Scholars. There are also twelve Commoner
Prefects, who have authority over all the other Commoners.

Fagging, — ^Though none but the eighteen Prefects have
power to fag, the system of fagging is exercised with peculiar
severity at Winchester. A boy may be " valet " to one Prefect,
whom he waits on in his chamber ; '' breakfast fag " to another,
whom he attends at tea in Hall; and liable to be sent on
errands, and to be made to field at cricket, at the bidding of
any Prefect who may happen to want those services performed.
Some of a fag's duties too are of a very servile description ;
and as the fagging in College is on a different principle from
the fagging in commoners, the one depending on length of
standing in College, the other on position in the School, a
boy, who being a Commoner, is elected a Scholar^ has to go
through a second period of this abject servitude.

Punishments, — The punishments at Winchester are impo-
sition^ confinement, caning, and flogging, and, when these
fail, expulsion. The impositions are not usually given to be
written out, but to be learnt by heart, which is thought to be
an improvement upon the former practice. Flogging, which

94 ^^ Great Schools of En^atid.

is administered publicly, and by the Head and Second Masters
only, it is some satisfaction to know, ^' has greatly diminished
in frequency," and, which was to be expected, the diminution
has had a good effect^

Sports and Pastimes, — According to ancient usage, the
scholars at Winchester were, till lately, confined to the College
meadow, except when they went in procession three times a
week to take a solemn "constitutional" up St Catherine's HilL
The pilgrimage to '^ Hills " is still observed, but the boys are
now permitted to range the country freely, the town only being
prohibited ground. The play-meads themselves have been
improved by the erection of a capital racquet or fives-court, the
gift of the Rev. C. H. Ridding, and by the demolition of a
wall which divided the Scholars' meadow from that of the
Commoners. Winchester possesses no facilities for boating.
The sparkling Itchen, though a famous stream for anglers, is
rarely favoured by an eightK>ars, and ^^fortUer ituumbite
remis /" isz, command unheard-of among Wykehamists. Their
favourite sport is cricket, for which they have long been re-
nowned, and at which, though inferior in numbers, they have
for years contended successfully against both Eton and Harrow.
The first public-school match was played at Winchester in
1825, Dr. Christopher Wordsworth (now Canon of West-
minster, and late Head Master of Harrow) being captain of
the Winchester eleven; and Dr. Charles Wordsworth (now
Bishop of St Andrew's) heading the eleven of Harrow. The
matches between Eton and Winchester are sometimes played
at Lord's, but more frequently at one or other of the Schools
— ^the eleven whose turn it is to compete on the rivals' ground
being entertained by the College authorities. Up to 1850, the

' In former days, not very long since, flogging was inflicted at Winchester,
as at other schools, for the most trivial oflences." ** In strictness," says a
pleasant writer on our public schools, ** a lad was not considered a
Wykehamist until he had been flogged. In my own case," he adds, " this
distinction was very speedily attained ; I became a Wykehamut almost as
soon as I entered Winchester." The flogging instrument in use at Win-
chester is peculiar. It is called the vimai quadryidum ; and consists of a
long handle with four apple-twigs tied at the end by way of a thongs

WinchesUr. 9S

" Cricket Register " showed that Winchester had been defeated
fifteen times, but had. been victorious seventeen ; 1826, 1830,
1840, and 1 85 1, saw Wykeham's Scholars conquerors both of
the Etonian and Harrovian eleven.^

Holidays, — ^The chief vacations are sixteen days at Easter,
six weeks and a day or two at Midsummer, and five weeks and
a day or two at Christmas. Commoners are allowed three
days more grace than scholars at Midsummer and Christmas,
and thus have nearly a week's additional holidays during the
year. Every saint's day is a holiday,' and in Common-time
(which extends over the whole short half-year, and for the first
ten weeks of the long one), there are three half-remedies —
— Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday — in every week ; though on
those afternoons the boys, for above an hour after four o'clock,
are occupied (under the superintendence of the Prefects) in
learning their next day's lessons, &c. In the remaining weeks
of the long half-year, Tuesday, with the exception of two hours'
work in the morning, is a whole remedy.

1 One of the chief promoters of the ga»e at Winchester was the late
Rev. R. S. Barter, the Warden, whose death occurred three years back.
Warden Barter was himself an enthusiastic cricketer ; never absent from
the great matches between Eton and Winchester ; never without a kindly
word and genial smile for both sides ; and his hospitality to Eton masters
and young Etonians when the matches came off at the latter College was
the admiration of his visitors. Though gentle in manner he had the fiame
and strength of a giant When a school-boy, in a match at Lord's, during a
very short innings, he hit the ball with such tremendous force that to this
day a long hit is called at Winchester *' a Barter." The old man was fond
of telling the story to the boys: "I had only one 'over,' got one 'six,'
and two 'foun,' and was out at the fourth ball I " It is related of him that
on one occasion when travelling on the outside of the coach to Oxford he
sat next to a passenger who rendered himself intolerably offensive by the
profanity and indecency of his language. Finding his own remonstrances
as well as those of the other travellers unavailing, the young scholar
suddenly seized the fellow by the collar, and, swinging him over the side of
the coach, held him suspended there with one arm, and threatened if he
did not promise to be silent he would drop him !

' At Winchester, as at St. Paul's School, only saints' days are termed
holidays; the ordinary weekly absences from School are known as ^^»r/<//Vx
or Half-Remedies,

g6 Hu Great Schools of England,

" Domum!^ — The hymn " Dulce Domum," which is invari-
ably sung on the last six Saturdays of the ^' long half " before
" evening hills," is connected with a very painful story. Three
centuries ago, it is said, a friendless Scholar was left alone at
\ the College during holidays. Oppressed with grief at the loss
of his companions, he, with difficulty, contrived to wear away
a few weeks of the vacation ; but at length the solitude became
too much for him, and the desolate child, after carving the
words '^ Dulce domum " on the bark of a tree, took to his
lonely room and died of a broken heart The hymn begins :^

Concinamus, O sodales (
£ja ! quid silemos ?
Nobile canticnm !
Dulce meloa^ domum !
Domum, domum, resonemusl

CHORUS.

Domum, domum, dulce domum I
Domum, domum, dulce domum !
Dulce, dulce, dulce domum I
Dulce domum, resonemus I ^

Religious Observances. — On Sundays the boys go to prayers
in chapel at 8 a.m. and again to prayers and a sermon at 5 p.m.
They also attend the service in the cathedral at 10.30, which
consists of the Litany, the Communion-prayers, and a sermon.
Besides the church services there is school on Sundays from 4
till a quarter to 5. On other da)rs the boys go to chapel for a
short service every morning. The sermons in chapel are usually
preached by the Warden, and the Head and Second Masters.

Boarding Houses, — There are at Winchester only four
boarding-houses for the Commoners. The chief of these is
the Head Master's ; two are kept by Assistant Masters, and the
fourth is kept by a gentieman who was formerly a '' Tutor in
Commoners. ** It is in contemplation to open four boarding*

1 The canticle is too long for entire insertion. It has been paraphnsed
and translated repeatedly. Perhaps the best English version is that by
Ring, a Wykehamist, published in the Gentleman* s Magazine for 1796,
p. 209.

Winchester. 97

houses besides the Head Master^s house, each of which four is
to hold about twenty-five boys.

The boys sleep five or six in a room, and do not use their
bed-rooms during the daytime. The twenty senior boys in
the Head Master*s house have small private studies j the others,
when they are not in School, sit in a common hall, where each
has his " toy " or cupboard.

Breakfast, in the boarding-houses, is taken at 8 a.m, dinner
at I o'clock, and tea at 6 p.m. Meat is not supplied at break-
fast or at tea, but a boy is allowed to have ham, &c. if sent
him by his firiends.

The chaige for each boy in the Head Master's house is 84/.
yearly j in the other boarding-houses it is 105/. This includes
all the School charges. German and Drawing are the only
extras, and they are paid for as such by those who learn them.
The 105/. includes also medical attendance. The total ex-
penses of a boy boarding in the Head Master's house, including
travelling-money, pocket-money, and tradesmen's bills, may be
set down at about 116/. per annum. The following half-year's
account shows the general rates of the charges for a Commoner
at Winchester : —

£ J. d.

Drawing master 000

Hatter 130

Linen-drapers 063

Carpenter 000

Hairdresser o 10 3

Bookseller i 8 10

Smith .••• 000

Shoemaker i 19 o

Tailor 348

Surgeon (a regular*half-yearly charge) .... i i o

Letterman o 10 10

Money advanced 200

Weekly allowance 120

Half-yearly charges 4200

Sempstress 010

Porter ordered from the wine merchant ... 160

£S^ 12 10
H

98 The Great Scliooh of England.

In the case of new boys, there is the further charge of
11/. i8j. 6//. entrance fees, and a few boys have separate private
tutors at the charge of 5/. by the half-year.

The average cost to the parents of a Foundation Scholar,
including everything, is about 30A

ism

SiBBBV

Winchester

99

CHAPTER III.

WYKEHAMISTS, PAST AND PRESENT.

*' My now being in that School, and seeing that very place where I sat
when I was a boy, occasioned me to remember those very thoughts of my
youth which then possessed me : sweet thoughts, indeed, that promised my
growing years numerous pleasures without mixture of cares ; and those to
be enjoyed when time, which I therefore thought slow-paced, had changed
my youth into manhood. 1 saw there a succession of boys using the name
recreations, and, questionless, possessed with the same thoughts that then
possessed me. Thus one generation succeeds -another both in their lives,
recreations, hopes, fears, and death." — Sir Henry fVoffon, after a visit to
Winchester College.

Wardens of Winchester College.

William of Wykeham, in his Charter of Foundation, in 1382,
nominated Thomas de Cranle, or Cranley, the first Warden.
The College not being completed until 1393, the accompanying
list begins only from that period.

1393 John Morys.
141 3 Robert Thurbum.
1450 Thomas Chaundeler.
1454 Thomas Baker.
1485 Michael Clyve.
1 501 John Rede.
1 52 1 Ralph Bamacke.
1526 Edward More.
1 541 John White.
1554 John BoxaL
1556 Thomas Stempe.
1580 Thomas Bilson.
1596 John Haimar.
1613 Nicholas Love.

1630 John Harris.
1658 William Burte.
1679 John Nicholas.
171 2 Thomas Brathwaitc.
1720 John Cobb.
1724 John Dobson.
1 730 Henry Bigg.
1 740 John Coxed.
1757 Christopher Golding.

John Pumell.
1 763 Heniy Lee.
1786 George Isaac Himtingford.
1832 Robert S. Barter.
1 86 1 Godfrey Bolles Lee.

H 2

100

The Great Schools of England,
Head Masters of Winchester,

1394 John Milton.

1395 Thomas Rumsey.
1407 John Pole.

14 14 Thomas Rumsey.^
141 8 Richard Darcy.
1424 Thomas Alwine.
1429 William Wayneflete.'
1441 Thomas Alwine.'
1445 William Ive.
H54 John Bernard.
1460 John Green.
1464 Clement Smythe.
1466 Richard Deane.
X4S4 John Rede.
1490 Robert Festham.
1495 William Horeman.
1502 William Forelington.
1508 Edward More.
15 16 Thomas Earlysman.
1526 Thomas Tychener.
1 53 1 Richard Tuchiner.
'537 Jo^n White.

1542 Thomas Bailie.

'547 William Evered.

1552 Thomas Hyde.

1560 Christopher Johnson.

1 57 1 Thomas Bilson.

1580 Hugh Lloyd.

1588 John Harmar.

1595 Benjamin Hayden.

1 601 Nicholas Love.

1613 Hugh Robinson.

1627 Edward Stanley.

1642 John Pottenger.

1653 William Burt

1658 Henry Beeston.

1678 WUliam Harris.

1700 Thomas Cheyney.

1724 John Burton.

1 766 Joseph Warton.

1793 William Stanley Goddard.

1 8 10 Henry Dison GabelL

1824 David Williams.

1836 George Moberly.

Among the very many eminent men whom the munificence
of William of Wykeham

" Put forth in torn to seek preferment out ;
Some to the wars, to try their fortunes there ;
Some to discover islands far away ;
Some to the studious universities,"

we have space only to enumerate a few of the most con-
spicuous. Eight archbishops, some of whom were cardinals
and lord chancellors, head the roll. Cranley, Archbishop of
Dublin, 1386 ; Chichele, of Canterbury, Lord Chancellor to
Henry V.,*—" The Golden Candlestick of the English Church,

^ Elected a second time.

s Founder of Magdalen College, Oxford.

' Elected a second time.

^ Henry Chichele, or Chichley, was bom at Higham Rivers in 1362. He
took an important part both in the political and ecclesiastical movements
of his time. Though a strenuous upholder of ecclesiastical privilege
and discipline, and thotigh incapable of ascending beyond the ideas of
his age, he was yet free from violence when violence was too common, and

Winchester, loi

the darling of the people, the good father of his clergy, and the
munificent founder of ' All Souls/ Oxford ;" Inge, Archbishop
of Dublin, and Lord Chancellor of Ireland ; Deane, Archbishop
of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor ; Warham, likewise of
Canterbury, Chancellor successively to Henry VIL and Henry

; VIII., and the antagonist of Wolsey, whose fall he predicted
in words memorable long afterwards, — " See ye not, my masters,
that this man is drunken with too great prosperity 1" Young,

I of York, 1560 ; Cobb, of Dublin ; and, in our own day,

' HowLEY of Canterbury.

Wykeham's bishops are above threescore. Among them, in
the fifteenth century, are Beckynton, of Bath, the Mecaenas
of his age, and prime benefactor to Lincoln College, Oxford ;
Waynflete, of Winchester, the founder of Magdalen College,
Oxford ; and Russell of Rochester, Lord Chancellor of
England, and the first Chancellor of Oxford University. In
the sixteenth century. Young of Oxford, Master of the Rolls
and Warden of New College ;i Turberville, of Exeter ;
White, of Lincoln, who had the boldness to preach the funeral
sermon of Queen Mary, from the text, " She hath chosen the
better partl^ and to recommend obedience to her successor,
Elizabeth, on the uncourtly principle that "a living dog is
better than a dead lion." Of the famous "seven" bishops of

' 1688, three, — Lloyd of St. Asaph,* Turner of Ely, and Ken

appears to have been animated by pious and patriotic feelings and a noble
purpose.

1 In his day. Fuller says, " there were ten Young fellows, but no
marvel/* he adds, "that so many fellows should be Youngs since the
College itself was ever NewJ*^

• Bishop Lloyd was bom in 1717. At the end of a life extended to ninety
years, he fell into a species of imbecility, which led to some curious mani-
festations. His career was erentiiil, and, in the main, honourable, though
for a prelate be was too partial to political intrigue. He was a stedfast
royalist, and a fervent supporter of the established religion, but he was not
intolerant, and does not seem to have entertained any antipathy to the Roman
Catholica, except when they became disloyal by the recognition of the
Pope's infallibility. It is difficult in these days to judge fairly his political
conduct at a period of exceeding complication and co.-nmotion. But the
testimony to his learning and piety must ever be unanimous.

loa The Great Schools of England.

of Bath and Wells — ^the friend of Izaak Walton, the finn
reprover of Charles II., and the fearless mediator between
James II. and the butchered followers of Monmouth, after
Sedgmoor, — ^were educated at Winchester. So also, it is pro-
bable, was a fourth, Trelawny, whose danger is said to have
roused the well-known Cornish distich : —

'* And shall Trelawny die ? And shall Trelawny die ?
Then thirty thousand Comishmen will know the reason why." i

Of a like undaunted spirit, and " no respecter of persons,"
was, in the next generation, Maugham of Chichester, who, wheii
commanded to read prayers as clerk of the closet on the out-
side of Queen Anne's apartment, while her Majesty amused
herself within, refused on principle "to whistle God's word
through a keyhole ;" and still later, Bathurst of Norwich, who,
preferring consistency to promotion, and opposing the minister
of the day, was victimized, and thanked Heaven heartily " that
though he had lost Winchester, he had saved his conscience."
To these Wykeham worthies must be added Lowth of London,^

^ Trelawn/s experience of Tower fare may have rendered him more
keenly alive to the privations of others. During the time he was Visitor
of Winton College, he addressed the following interesting letter to the
governing body : —

** Mr. Warden and Gentlemen, — When I was last at Winchester I
thought it would be much for the health and cleanliness of the children
of the College that there should be bed-makers appointed by the Warden
for them, and the children relieved from the servile and foul office of making
their own beds and keeping their chambers dean. And also, that during
the winter half-year, between Michaelmas and Lady-day, they should not
be obliged to rise before six o'clock in the morning. You then so entirely
agreed with me in this opinion, and so readily complied with this proposal,
that I thought I might spare the formality of sending a solemn injunction to
that purpose ; but Michaelmas now drawing near, I only write this to
signify to you that I expect from that time, what I formerly enjoined, and
you agreed to, should be put in execution.

" I am, your most affectionate servant and brother,

"JONATH. WiNTON.

** Sept. i6th, 1708."
— Mackenzie Walcot's Wykeham and his Colleges, p. 196.
' Robert I^wth was the son of a theologian of some eminence^ and died

Winchester, 103

celebrated as the best English commentator on the poetry of the
Hebrews, and the loving biographer of William of Wykeham ;
Mant, of Dromore, not less eminent for Biblical criticism ; and
in our own age, Maltby, of Durham ; Shirley, of Sodor and
Man, and Shuitleworth, of Chichester, all men whose names
will be cherished wherever sound learning and purity of life
are venerated. If Mary of Winton's lawyers are less numerous
than her prelates, they are not less memorable. Foremost
on the list are Lord Redesdale, Irish Chancellor; Lord
Cranworth, Lord Chancellor : Judge Hollowav, who nobly
distinguished himself on the trial of the seven bishops ; Sir
£dward Herbert, Lord Chief Justice ; Sir James Eyre,
Lord Chief Baron ; Mr. Justice Nares ; Sir William Earle,
the present Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas ; Vice-
Chancellor Sir William Wood, and the present Attorney-
General, Sir Roundell Palmer. Three Speakers of the
House of r^ommons owe their early training to Winchester,
Onslow, Cornwall, and Lefevre (the present Viscount
Eversley).
Addington (Viscount Sidmouth),^ Premier in 1801, was

at an advanced age, Bishop of Xx>ndon, in 1787. He is one of th6 men of
whom the Church of England has reason to be proud* His talents, how-
ever, were more eminent than his learning. The lectures which h^ delivered
at Oxford were the foundation of his famous work on the Sacred Poetry
of the Hebrews^ of which, in its original Latin form, Michaelb and Rosen-
miiller published improved editions in Germany. It was more than once
translated into French. His dissertation and notes on the Birth of Isaiah
were translated into German, but they can bear no comparison with the
labours of Gesenius on the same subject Of the other productions of
Bishop Lowth the most notable was his Short Introduction to English
Grammar^ which had a very suggestive influence at the period of its
appearance, and excited attention both in France and Germany.

^ Henry Addington took a foremost part in great affairs, but he was
certainly very far indeed from being great himself. Neither as Speaker of
the House of Commons, as Prime Minister, nor, finally, as Home Secretary,
did he display any qualities elevated above common-place. The fire of
sarcastic small-shot which Canning delighted to keep up against Addington
and hb oratory at the momentous epoch of the latter *s career, when Pitt
became his opponent, is thought to have had considerable influence in the

I04 The Great Schools of England.

educated there, as were three other politicians, painfully im-
mortalized by Whig wit sixty years ago, — Rolle, who invo-
luntarily lent his name to the Rolliad; Sir George Rose,
the hero of The Probationary Odes; and Hiley Addington,
ridiculed as

" Dull Healy, dull Hedy,

Your auditors f«el ye
A speaker of very great weight ;

And they wish you were dumb,

When with ponderous hum
You lengthen the drowsy debate."

In our own day we count Lord Taunton (Labouchere), The
Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, and The Right Hon. Sir
Robert Lowe, all Wykehamists, amongst our leading statesmen.
Generals Sir Robert Wilson, Sir J. C. Dalbiac, Lord
Seaton (Colbourne), Sir Andrew Barnard, Sir Wiluam
Myers, killed at Albuera, 1811 — Sir Alexander Woodford,
Sir T. W. Robbins, Bradshaw and Carey, were, or are, all
at Winchester College. And, in the sister service, she may
claim Admirals Sir J. B. Warren, 1798; Popham, Young
(" Straightforr*ard Young"), and Keats (late Chief Commis-

Premiet's defeat. His saying that the relative merits of Pitt and Addington
were determinable by the Rule of Three inverse —

" Pitt is to Addington
^ As London is to Paddington,*'

is in the xeoollection of many. Not so, perhaps, his amusing misquotation
in reference to the cajolery of Addington's addresses to the country
gentlemen :—

*' I do remember an apothecary,—

Gulling of simples. "

Or the verse in one of his pleasantries, where he invokes the Premieres
brother, Hiley, and his brother-in-law, Bragg^e, to applaud the Adding-
tonian declamations : —

*' Cheer him when he hobbles vilely
Brother Bragge and Brother Hiley !
Cheer him when his audience flag
Brother Hiley— Brother Bra^e ! "

Winchester, 105

sioner of Greenwich Hospital), who, off St Domingo, led
JTi^ Superb into action, having first lashed a portrait of his
old friend Nelson to the xnizen stay, and bidden his band to
strike up " The Battle of the Nile."

la poets, so rich is the roll of Winchester, that a Wykehamist
migkt say, as Dr. Johnson said of Pembroke College, " Sir, we
are 1 nest of singing birds." Turbekville (1561); Chalk-
HiLLy dear to the lovers of Izaak Walton's Angler; Qtway.
the 21-fated author of Venice Presented and 77te Orphan;
Philups, of the love-locks, who wrote Blenheim^ Cider^
and T\e Silver Shilling; " Virgilian" Pitt; Edward Young,^
author of the celebrated Night Thoughts; William White-
head, loet Laureate in 1757 ; Collins, whose admirable odes
and elegies have rendered his name and sorrows known
wherever the English tongue is spoken j " Joe Warton,"^ the

1 The merits of Dr. Young's N^ht Thoughts are unquestionable. His
nine books^ which have no necessary connexion with each other, con-
tain magnificent passages. But the work has numerous defects. It is often
poor, difiiise, and bombastic, and exhibits a perpetual straining after epi-
grammatic effects. Nothing moreover can be falser than its view of human
exbtence. Ai a didactic poem, it fails by being far too sombre, just as
Boileau's Satis on Man fails by being too severe. Young's lamentations,
deprecations, ind denunciations have often been contrasted with that
worldly ambiticn which was so marked a feature in his career ; but these
inconsistencies are ordinary enough without always implying insincerity.

* Dr. Joseph Warton was bom in 1722, and entered Winchester School
at fourteen, but ^ng superannuated at eighteen, before a vacancy occurred
at New College, he entered at Oriel, where he graduated B.A. 1744.
Taking ordera, he was presented by. the Duke of Bolton to the Rectory of
Winslade. After travelling with that nobleman on the continent, in 1753
he took a share \x Hawkesworth*s Adventurer, and soon after published
some excellent versbns of the Eclogues and 6eorgics ; which were speedily
followed by his best known work, the Essay on the Writings and Genius
0/ Pope, In 1766, ^e was appointed Head Master of Winchester, an
office which he held for thirty years, retiring in 1795, not perhaps too
soon, for though exqiisitely skilled in composition, and possessed of a
refined classical taste, be was lax in discipline, and ill-adapted to instruct
and keep in order a legbn of unruly and half-educated boys. Dr. Warton,
with his brother Thomis, was for many years an intimate of Sir Joshua
Reynolds, and Dr. Johxvon. On the death of Goldsmith, he was one of

Xo6 The Great Schools of England,

elder brother of " Congenial Tom ;" ^ Somerville, the author
of The Chase; Charles Dibdin,' who wrote and sung our
best naval ballads ; and Canon Lisle Bowles,^ of Bremhill,
were all of Winton.

the circumscribers of the Round Robin addressed to Johnson^ entreating
him to substitute an English epitaph for the Latin one which the " Great
Moralist " had written in honour of their deceased friend. The answer of
Johnson is well known : — ** I should have thought 'Mund Burke would
have had more sense, and I wonder that Joe Warton, a schclar by
profession, should be such a fool."

^ The author of The History of English Poetry; The Triunphs of
Isis ; and the best editions extant of Miltotis Minor Poems, He made
frequent visits to Winchester, and was such an especial favourite with his
brother's pupils, that they commonly said, *' Tom Warton is net, but he
deserves to be, a Wykehamist." His good nature induced him sometimes
to write the boys* exercises, and his Latinity being first rate, the doctor one
day detected the trick. '* Go, sir," cried he to a young blockhead who
brought up an exercise evidently not his own, "go, take these verses to
my brother, and say that if he does not give you half a crown, I will give
you a flogging for them.** The brothers Warton were both cien of great
ability. No men, perhaps, have done more, few men have done so mucb|
to illustrate our early literature.

' The versatility of Dibdin*s talent was as remarkable as lis productive
power. He was musical composer, dramatist, and actor; gave public
entertainments under the title of Readings and Music, and wrote prose
works of considerable length. It is sad to know that hs manifold and
marvellous activities did not stay him from falling into extreme indigence.
He is best remembered now by his sea songs, which bebng to a class of
literature almost peculiar to England, and which will always occupy a fore-
most rank therein. Yet admirable as these songs are m some respects,
they are not free from a certain artificiality. Dibdin's sailor, in fact, is not
the true old English " salt," but a sort of imaginary, stagely noariner of the
T. P. Cooke type.

' The name of Lisle Bowles calls to mind a pleasing anecdote he has
put on record illustrative of the enduring affections which those connected
with the School entertain for it« He is speaking of an aged uncle of his
father, Fellow of Winchester from 1725 to 1 78 1, who with a close but not
penurious economy, for he had a liberal mind, lived long, accumulated
much, — "and left all to charities and especially to charity schools." ** This
worthy man," Mr. Bowles says, — "when I was at Winchester School,
regularly asked me to dinner on Sunday, and after dinner, I had one glass
of wine out of a bottle from which at eighty-four years of age he indulged
himself with three. The one glass of wine allotted to me, and a shilling

Winchester. 107

Her wits and men of letters are as numerous as her poets.
We name a few of them only. Grocyn,^ tutor to Erasmus, and,
among the scholars of his dzyy/aciie frinceps ; Andrew Borde,
believed to be the original " Merry Andrew ; " Sir Henry
Sidney, Lord Warden of the Welsh Marches, circa 1543, and
father of "Sir Philip;" Garnet, Mundy, and Body, Roman
Catholics, who suffered for conscience sake in the time of
Elizabeth and James I. ; Sir Henry Wotton,^ Provost of

with it, were always accompanied with a health which he never omitted ;
and at the age I have mentioned, I have seen him repeat it with tears in his
eyes — ^it was the following : —

•' * To— THE THRBESCORE AND TEN I —

May God make them Happy Men ! ' "

1 This distinguished philologist, whom Erasmus, in gratitude and admi-
ration, named paironus and praceptor^ was bom in 1442. On leaving
Winchester, he studied at Oxford. In i486 he became prebendary of
Lincoln, and, having obtained this preferment, he resolved to travel for the
purpose of perfecting himself in the Greek language. In Italy he studied
under the most illustrious Byzantine exiles. What he had acquired he
showed no desire to keep as a treasure or as a monopoly to himself. He
had the true instinct of the reformer ; and on his return to England he
became the active champion and propagandist of the Greek tongue. At
Oxford, where bigotry and enlightenment stood face to face, he began
the battle. The strife was long and arduous ; but, in the main, victory
was on the side of Grocyn and his faction, and Greek, though op-
posed as a pestilent innovation, gradually gained that empire it has ance
maintained.

' Sir Henry Wotton was famous both as a diplomatist and a scholar.
Having enriched his mind in the most various directions, he went abroad to
study, and remained for nine years in France, Germany, and Italy for that
purpose. On his return to England he became secretary to the unfortunate
Earl of Essex. Upon the EarPs downfall, he fled from the anger of the
Queen to Florence, where he occupied himself chiefly with literature, not
however, it appears, to the total exclusion of politics. He contrived to
detect a conspiracy against King James, and the monarch was not ungrate-
ful ; for, on ascending the English throne, he knighted Henry Wotton, and
appointed him ambassador to Venice. When passing through a German
y^ town, he happened to write in a friend^s book, — '* An ambassador is an
I honest num ; he is sent abroad to lie for the benefit of his country." This
^ jest, so harmless in itself, proved of disastrous consequences to Wotton.
It was represented as a revealment of the king's political morality ; and
James punished the author forthwith by the withdrawal of his favour^,

io8 The Great Schools of England,

Eton, the angling ally of Walton, and the friend of Milton ;
HosKiNS, " the Epigrammatist," whom Ben Jonson called his
" poetical father ; " Rudyerd, « one of the best orators of the
best school of English eloquence," whose delight it was " to
be sealed of the tribe of Ben ; " Lydiat, famous as a classical,
oriental, and Ethiopian scholar, and yet more famous as a
traveller, whom Dr. Johnson instances as a sad example of
the sufferings and sorrows incidental to men of letters ; Sir
Thomas Brown, the learned and eccentric author of the Religio
Medici, Hydrotaphia, Quincunx, and the Inquiry Concerning
Vulgar Errors; Antony Ashley, third Earl of Shaftesbury,i

though Wotton solemnly declared that he had intended to make a joke and
not to propound a principle. Notwithstanding the sovereign's displeasure,
Wotton was shortly before James's death promoted to the honourable office
of Provost of Eton College. In the dignified retirement of this position he
spent the latter years of his life, with all " that peace and patience, and a
calm content," which Isaac Walton teUs us "did cohabit in his cheerful
heart"

^ The third Earl of Shaftesbury was bom in 1671. His health was
always feeble, but he showed from earliest childhood a strong capacity.
At Winchester School his position was exceedingly painful ; persecuted on
account of his grandfather's political opinions, he left the school at the age
of fifteen, and travelled abroad for three years. It was not till five years
after his return that he entered the House of Commons. But though he
was an earnest maintainer of freedom and tolerance, the refinement of
his nature unfitted him for political conflict In this respect he presented
a striking contrast to his grandfather. Wearying of politics, he again went
abroad, and found in Holland congenial companionship with that brilliant
group of French refugees of which Bayle was the head. Leaving Holland
for England toward the end of the seventeenth century, he had not been
long at home when he was called to the House of Loids by the death of
his father. Of William the Third's enlightened and enei^etic policy he was
the resolute supporter. When Queen Anne ascended the throne, Shaftes-
bury retired from public affairs. The last two years of his life were spent
at Naples, where he sought the solace of a warm and genial climate. It
was during this period — one of sickness and decline— that he prepared a
complete edition of his works, which appeared immediately after his death,
under the title of Characteristics of Men^ Manners^ Opinions and Times.
Two collections of his letters were also published at the same time.

Shaftesbury was a subtle and sagacious rather than a profound thinker.
As a graceful and elegant writer, however, his merits are undeniable.
System he can scarcely be said to have had, but his noble moral doctrines

Winchester, i6g

who wrote the Characteristics^ &*c. ; James Harris, first Earl of
Malmesbury \ ^ Shipley, Dean of St. Asaph ; Joseph Spence,
the biographer and friend of Pope ; Dr. Ingram, late President
of Trin. Coll. Oxon, and author of the beautiful Memorials
of the sister Universities ; Sydney Smith ; ^ Dr, Buckland,

were in perfect harmony with his noble moral character. He has been
accused of imitating St Evremond ; it woold be true to say that Shaftes-
bury powerfully influenced the French writers who came immediately after
himself. Nor were his ideas without a stimulating and fertilising effect on
the birth and growth of what has been called the Scottish Philosophy. His
works have been frequently translated into French, and it is difficult to
understand why they are so little read by his countrymen at the present day.

1 The first Earl of Malmesbury can scarcely be called a great statesman,
but he was unquestionably one of the greatest of English diplomatists.
His father was the author of the celebrated work, Hermes ; or, a Philo'
sophkal Inquiry into Universal Grammar, which attracted much attention
at the time of its appearance, and passed through several editions. The
son, after serving in various subordinate offices, was sent in 1771 as
ambassador to Prussia, where he remained four jrears, and in 1777 as
Ambassador to Russia, where he remained five years. His skill and perse-
verance were foiled by the arts of Catherine II. which, however, he was
keen enough to detect He was subsequently appointed ambassador to
Holland, during the civil troubles there, and as a reward for the ability and
energy which he had displayed, he was raised to the peerage. Lord
Malmesbury belonged to that section of the Whigs which, on the outbreak
of the French Revolution, deserted Fox to ally themselves with Burke.
A mission to Germany for the purpose of demanding the hand of the
Princess Caroline of Brunswick for the Prince of Wales lost him the Prince's
favour, which he previously in a high degree enjoyed. In 1796 and in 1797
he went to treat of peace with the French Government, but his mission
was unsuccessful. This proved his final diplomatic labour; incurable deaf-
ness thenceforth condemned him to public inaction, though he continued
to be consulted by leading statesmen, especially on foreign politics.

* Bobus and Cecil Smith were sent to Eton, Sydney and Courtenay to
Winchester. In youth, the whole quaternion were fond, their mother
writes, of n^lecting games, *' seizing every hour for study, and often l3ring
on the floor stretched over their books, discussing with loud voice and most
vehement gesticulation every point that rose— often subjects above their
years — ^and arguing upon them with a warmth and fierceness of manner as
if life and death hung upon the issue." The result of which was, Sydney
says, " to make us the most intolerable and overbearing set of boys that
can well be imagined, till, later in life, we found our level in the world. "

Sydney Smith, while at Winchester, is said to have been not only leader

1 10 The Great Schools of England.

the geolo^st ; Arnold,^ the matchless Head Master of Rugby ;
Dr. Sewell, of Oxford ; Christopher Wordsworth, Canon
of Westminster.

Wykehamists may well point with pride to the roll of those

great and good men who, as Mr. Walcott eloquently says,

/ " have heard the graces sung, and seen — nay, dwelt among the

^ holy walls that have stood, by God's blessing, for nigh five

\ hundred years, during which the reigning dynasty has been

/ five times changed, and the established religion of the country

( thrice suffered change. . . . There is a community of interest,

a mutual tie, a secret freemasonry, a oneness of language,

between all who have sat in the same school, knelt in the

same chapel, cricketed, or played at football in the same field

and mead, bathed in the same stream ; glanced with pleasure

' on the School or College class-list in which appeared some

\ known names; watched anxiously and with reviving boyish

'. enthusiasm, and rejoiced over the day won at Lord's over

' Eton or Harrow ; have venerated the successful champions of

Winton in senate, parish, bar, or camp ; for young and old,

the prosperous and unsuccessful, here is the central home of

/ that great brotherhood, whose common glor}^ is the name of

' Wykehamist."

in scholarship, but in mischief also. He was one night discovered by
Dr. Warton constructing a catapult by lamplight, and commended for his
ingenuity, the Doctor little dreaming that the implement was designed for
the capture of a turkey near at hand, whose plumpness had long excited the
appetites of the then ill-fed boys.

^ Thomas Arnold died prematurely, leaving unfinished some of the
noblest enterprises. He was no less distinguished as a religious than as an
educational reformer ; and, had he been neither, he would have been dis-
tinguished for the example he gave of a brave and manly life. His fome as
the historian of Rome may perish, but the glory which he gained by his
uprightness and intrepidity will never die.

Winchester,

Jii

GOVERNING BODY OF WINCHESTER IN 1865.
Warde»—'Kt\, Godfrey BoUes Lee, M.A.

Rev. H. Huntingford, B.C.L.
Rev. C. Williams, M.A.
Rev. H. Lee, B.D. Sub-Wardm.
Rev. R. Grant, B.C.L.
Rev. G C. Rashleigh, M.A.

Fdiaws,

Rev. G. W. Heathcote, B.C.L.
Rev. C. H. Ridding, B.C.L.
Rev. H. B. WiUiams, M.A.
Rev. T. F. A. Parry Hodges, D.C.L.

EDUCATIONAL STAFF OF WINCHESTER IN 1865.

Head Master — Rev. George Mobcrly, D.C.L.
Second Master— ^tv. George Ridding, M.A.

J. D. Walford, M.A.
Rev. H. E. Moberly, M.A.
Rev. H. J. Wickham, M.A.
Rev. E. H. L. WiUes, M.A.
Rev. J. T. H. Du Bonlay, M.A.

Assistant Masters and Tutors.

C. Griffith, M.A.
H. C. Dickins, M. A.
Rev. C. H. Hawkins, B.A.
H. W. Hussey, B.A.
W. L. Stonhouse, B.A.

Lecturer on Physical Science — George Griffith, M.A,

Extra Masters,

Mons. O. C. Angoville, French.
Mons. Du Domaine, Assistant
French,

Herr E. Heller, German,
Mr. W. Whale, Writing.
Mr. R. Baigent, Drawing.

112 The Great Schools of England.

CHAPTER IV.

SPECIAL RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE ROYAL

COMMISSION.

All the General Recommendations are, in our opinion, appli-
cable to Winchester, with the single exception of XXIV.

We add the following special recommendations : —

That the Governing Body of Winchester College should
consist of a Warden and eleven Fellows, of whom four should
be stipendiary and seven honorary.

That the Warden should be elected by the Governing Body,
and be a Graduate of Oxford or Cambridge, of the degree of
M.A. or some higher degree, thirty-five years old at the least,
and not necessarily in Holy Orders ; and that he should have
an annual stipend of 1,700/., and the house which is now
assigned to the Warden.

That the Warden of New College for the time being should
be ex officio one of the seven honorary Fellows of Winchester.

That the other honorary Fellows should be persons qualified
by position or attainments to fill that situation with advantage
to the School ; thatthey should be entitled to no emoluments,
and not required to reside. Three of them should be nomi-
nated by the Crown, and should be Graduates of Oxford or *
Cambridge, and the other three should be elected by the whole
Governing Body.

That the four stipendiary Fellows should be elected by the
whole Governing Body ; that every person so elected should
either have obtained distinction in literature or science, or
have done long and eminent service to the School as Head
Master, Second Master, or Assistant Master ; that two at least

Winchester, 113

have done long and eminent service to the School as Head
Master, Second Master, or Assistant Master ; that two at least
of them should be in Holy Orders, and that each stipendiary
Fellow should have a fixed stipend of 700/. a year.

That, unless prevented by sickness or by some other urgent
cause allowed by the Governing Body, the Warden should
reside at Winchester during the whole of every School term,
and each of the paid Fellows during three months in every year.

That the Warden and Fellows should be members of the
F^stablished Church, but not necessarily men educated at Win-
chester.

That no ecclesiastical preferment in the gift of the College,
should be tenable with the Wardenship, nor with a stipendiaiy
Fellowship.

That the Gk)veming Body should be authorized to fix the
times and duration of the holidays, notwithstanding the pro-
visions of the Founder's Statutes on that subject

That advertisements respecting the elections to Scholarships
and Exhibitions, should afford information respecting the limits
of age, the subjects of examination, the value of the Scholar-
ships or Exhibitions, and, as far as possible, the number of
vacancies ; and that such advertisements should be inserted
in the newspapers three months at least before the day of
election.

That the Bedminster and Superannuates' Exhibitions, should
not be confined to boys who have been superannuated or have
failed of election to New College ; that they should be open
to Scholars and Commoners indifferently, and should be tenable
at any College at Oxford or Cambridge, but that a Bedminster
and a Superannuates' Exhibition should not be tenable toge-
ther ; that they should be awarded by competitive examination,
but that, cceteris paribus^ the pecuniary circumstances of the
candidates should be taken into account

That the annual value of the Superannuates* Exhibitions
should be fixed by the Governing Body ; that it should not be
less than 50/. j and that all of them should be of the same
value.

I

114 ^^ Great Schools of England.

That the two Exhibitions endowed out of the tithes of Mears
Ashby, should be consolidated into one ; that the consolidated
Exhibition should be awarded by competitive examination,
open to both Scholars and Commoners, and should not be
tenable with a Scholarship at New College, nor with a Bed-
minster or Superannuates* Exhibition.

That as regards that part of the scheme of studies which
relates to instruction in natural science, no distinction should
be made between the Scholars and the Commoners.

That the maximunx age for admission into the Fourth Form
should be 13 ; for the junior Part of the Fifth, 14 ; and for the
senior Part of the Fifth, 16. (See General Recommendation
XXV.)

That the permission to discontinue some part of the course
of the study, in order to give more time to some other part,
(General Recommendation XIII.), should not be granted to
any boy who has not reached the senior division of the Fifth
Form.

That the promotion of the boys from division to division
should not depend wholly, as it has hitherto done, upon the
marks gained for class-work and compositions during the half
year, but should depend also in part upon their performances
in a special competitive examination occurring once at least in
the year.

That a laiger amount of translation from English into Latin
and Greek verse and prose should be introduced ; that the
amount of original composition in these two languages should
be diminished ; and that some part of the original composition
in them should be exchanged for translations from Greek and
Latin into English, both oral translation (as distinct from con-
struing), and written, and that in estimating the merit of such
translations due regard should be paid to the correctness and
purity of the English.

That English composition should be cultivated in the junior
division of the Sixth Form.

That the practice of learning by heart passages from Latin
and English authors should be introduced in the Sixth Form.

JVinchisier, 115

That the number of Classical Masters should be increased as
soon as may be, so as to provide one Master for each division
of the School.

That in applying to Winchester the principles of General
Recommendations XXVI., XXVIL, XXVIIL, the sum to be
paid by the College for the instruction of each Scholar should
be not less than 20/., and that, until the number of Scholars
exceeds ninety, the Collie should pay, in addition to 20/. at
least for each Scholar, such further sum as will raise its total
payment for the Scholars' instruction to 1,800/., and that the
annual payments from the Goddard Fund to the Head and
Second Masters, should be deemed pro tanto payments by the
Collie for the instruction of the Scholars.

That arrangements should be made by which the Scholars
under the Sixth Form, instead of being left almost wholly to
themselves after six in the evening, should prepare their lessons
for the next day in the presence of a Tutor or Master, as is
now the practice with Commoners.

That the application to Winchester College of General
Recommendation XXX. should receive the special attention
of the Head and Second Masters and of the Governing Body.

I 2

1 16 7^e Great Schools of England.

\

WESTMINSTER.

** IN PATRIAM POPULUMQUE."

CHAPTER I.— HISTORICAL.

The Royal School of Westminster claims precedence among
the public Schools of London, partly on the score of its
antiquity, but chiefly on account of its connexion with die
ancient Palace and Court of Westminster. The School, as at
present formed, it is true, cannot point to an origin so remote
as either of its two great rivals, Winchester and Eton, which
date respectively from the reigns of Edward III. and Henry VI.
Yet there can be no question that there has existed from time
immemorial, a Grammar School attached to the Monastery of
Saint Peter; and that, in fact, though the actual Statutes were
i framed by Henry VIII. and his daughter, Queen Elizabeth,
the Royal Foundation was no more the origin of the School
than the Reformation was the origin of the Church of England.
Ingulphus, who, for several years before the battle of Hastings,
had acted as scribe or secretary to William the Conqueror,
expressly says that there was a school at Westminster, which he
himself used to attend ; and adds that " Queen Edgitha,*' the
accomplished consort of Edward the Confessor, " would often*
as he returned from school, oppose him touching his learn-
ing and lesson, and falling from grammar to logic, wherein
she had some knowledge, she would subtilly conclude an
argument with him, and by her handmaiden give him three or
four pieces of money and send him unto the palace where he
should receive some victuals, and then be dismissed. The
History of Crowland, in which this statement appears, is not

Westminster, 117

unexceptionable testimony; Sir Francis Palgrave and others
having raised doubts whether, instead of being written by
Ingulphus in the eleventh, it is not the work of a monk in the
thirteenth or fourteenth century. But we have the evidence of
Widmore, that from the latter part of the reign of Edward III.
till the dissolution of the Monastery, a salary was paid to a
schoolmaster styled " Magister scholarium pro eruditione pue-
rorum grammaticorumy* who was a distinct personage from him
by whom the children of the choir were taught to sing. And
Stow records how he was wont to witness annually in the
churchyard of St Bartholomew's, Smithfield, on a bank under
a wide-spreading tree, the scholars of St Peter's enter the
lists of grammar, chivalrously asserting the intellectual supre-
macy of Westminster against all comers^"

On the surrender of the Monastery of St. Peter, Henry
VIII. included the School in his draught for the new establish-
ment of the see of Westminster ; and Anthony k Wood mentions
that in the reign of Edward VI. Alexander Nowell, formerly
of Brazen-Nose College, taught School at Westminster, where
he zealously trained up the youth in Protestant principles.
During the reign of Maiy the School languished unsupported,
and many of the revenues intended for its maintenance were
diverted into other channels. When, however, Queen Eli^betK]
came to the throne^ she caused the statutes to be drawn ini
conformity with her father's plan, and by these the School has)
ever since been regulated.

The Queen's Letters Patent of June 11, 1560, directed that^
in remembrance of her father's benefactions to them, the
Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge, should
thenceforth annually elect to their Scholarships as many youths
as possible from Westminster ; and subsequently, in the
eighteenth year of her reign, she issued still more stringent
orders, addressed to all the electors, recapitulating and explain-
ing her previous commands. According to these injunctions, it
appears to have been the Queen's desire that the Foundation
should consist of forty boys, and that in their selection especial
regard should be given to their disposition, their knowledge,

1 1 8 TTie Great Schools of England,

and their poverty. Again^ Februaiy 7, 1575, the Queen (at
the suggestion of Dr. Goodman, then Dean of Westminster)
issued further Letters Patent addressed to all the electors,
reiterating, strengthening, and explaining her former injunc-
tions. In these she, inter alia^ orders that no boy be admitted
under eight years of age, or permitted to stay beyond his
eighteenth year ; and, in directing the forms of examination
and election, enjoins the latter to be by open voting. Previously,
however, to this — though at what period is not clear — it would
seem that there had been a provision for forty scholars, and
eighty Pensionarii, from which the Scholars were to be chosen ;
but this arrangement must have soon fallen into desuetude.
The electors and examiners nominated by the Queen to
detennine year after year what boys should be placed on the
Foundation, consisted of the Deans of Westminster and Christ
Church, the Master of Trinity, and two Masters of Arts (one
from each of these Colleges), with the Head Master as their
coadjutor. By the Statutes it is ordained that not less than six
Scholars shall be yearly draughted to the Universities — three
to Christ Church and three to Cambridge (plures autem
optamus)^ and that in the previous examination for admission
to the College at Westminster, no one should be elected who
had not been already at least one year in the School, or who
was likely to become the heir of an estate of ten pounds' yearly
value. These last provisions, it is needless to say, have of late
years been but little regarded. They further express, and with
singular precision of language, the Queen's desire that no
partiality should be shown by any of the electors during this
examination, and that the best boys should be conscientiously
chosen.

James I., in the fiflh year of his reign, confirmed and
strengthened all the particulars of Queen Elizabeth's Statutes,
and added a positive injunction that in the election of the
Fellows of Trinity, preference should be given to the West-
minster students. This command, which even Dr. Bentley,
when Master of that College, obeyed, is now habitually dis-
regarded.

IVestminsier^ 119

Nevertheless, the general spirit in which these Statutes were
conceived has been preserved even to this day ; no admission
into the College at Westminster being possible except by long
and arduous competition between the candidates for that
honour, while a subsequent examination by the electors is
required of those who, having passed their four years in
College, are, at the expiration of this time, eligible to student-
ships at Christ Church and scholarships at Trinity.

At one of these last examinations, on May 13, 1661, Evelyn
was present, and he states that he heard " such exercises in
Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic in themes and extraordinary
verses, with such readiness and will, as wonderfully astonished
in such boys."

For admission into College there are generally from twenty
to thirty candidates, and the period of examination, or rather
of mutual competition (technically termed " standing out "),
usually extends over seven or eight weeks of the spring of each
year.

Some of the provisions for the government of the young
Scholars are curious, and exemplify very strikingly the difference
of manners in our days and in those of our ancestors. Thus,
the boys were required to attend " daily praiers in Henry the
VII. Chapel at six o*clock in the morning," and orders were
given that the " Deans and Prebendaries doe kepe commons
together in the halle, and likewise the scholemaster and usher
and her Maiestie*s scholars, and also the servants and officers
of the saide coUedge." Furthermore, it is ordained that " the
schollars' allowance is in the saide hall after the rate of a pro-
vision made by the Deane and the Prebendaries — viz., a bushel
of wheate for twenty pence, a barrell of duble bear for three
shillings and fourpence, and the fuel after a certain rate." We
find, too that there was a house erected at Chiswick " with
chambers and shelter for the summer tyme, and if there should
be occasion of sickness ; — ^which house cost the building five
hundred pounds."

Widmore informs us that Westminster is indebted for this
house to Gabriel Goodman, Dean of Westminster, who had

1 20 The Great Schools of Et^and.

been Prebendary of Chiswick in St. Paul's Cathedral ; and
Fuller adds that Goodman *' purchased a fair house, with land
thereunto, at Chiswick, in Middlesex, where, with his own
hands, he set a fair row of elms, now grown up to great beauty
and height, for a retiring-place for the masters and scholars of
Westminster, in the heat of summer, or in any time of infec-
tion." It was to this house, as we learn from Bishop Hacket, in
his life of Lord Keeper Williams, that the most learned Prelate
of the Church of England, Lancelot Andrewes, then Dean of
Westminster, and subsequently Bishop of Winchester, was in
the habit of retiring, accompanied by two or more of the Col-
legiate Scholars, for repose after his exhausting labours. " The
Dean," says Hacket, " never walked to Chiswick for his recre-
ation without a brace of the young fry ; and in that wayfaring
leisure had a singular dexterity to fill those narrow vessels with
a funnell." Fortunate, indeed, were those boys who had such
a master to revise their exercises, and to devote, as was his
custom, whole evenings to their instruction! '^ Sometimes
thrice a week, sometimes oftener, he sent for the uppermost
Scholars to his lodgings at night, and kept them with him from
eight till eleven, unfolding to them the best rudiments of the
Greek tongue and the elements of the Hebrew Grammar, and
all this he did to boys without any compulsion of correction or
word of austerity." Among the lads so trained by Andrewes,
— ^whose kindness was the more remarkable inasmuch as he
himself had not been educated at Westminster, — was Brian
Duppa, successively Bishop of Chichester, Salisbury, and Win-
chester, and Lord High Almoner of Charles L, who especially
attributed his early knowledge and proficiency in Hebrew to the
teaching of Dean Andrewes. Bishop King states that Duppa
had the highest dignity the school could afford put upon him
to be FedonomuSj at Christmas, Lord of his Fellow Scholars.
King Charles H. visited the Bishop in his last sickness, a.d.
1662, and, on his knees, received the blessing of the dying
Prelate. Bishop Hacket, who was himself educated at West-
minster and who is well known for the sufferings he endured
at the hands of the Puritans, is recorded to have shown such

Westminster. 1 2 1

ability as a boy that the then Examiner, Dr. Neville, Master
of Trinity, told his father, that he would take him to Cambridge
even " if he carried him there on his back." Lichfield Cathedral
was nearly rebuilt by Hacket while he was Bishop of that
diocese between a.d. 1661 and a.d. 1670. Bishop Hacket was
in the same election (a.d. 1608), with the still more celebrated
George Herbert.

During the Civil Wars the Church, the Dean and Pre-
bendaries of Westminster were suppressed, and the School is
supposed to have shared the same fate. In 1645, however,
the Parliament consigned the government of the Church to a
committee of eleven lords and twenty-two commoners, and in
1649, an Act was passed in the House of Commons, for the
continuance and support of the School and Almshouses of
Westminster.

Shortly after the Restoration of Charles II. the learned and
amiable Dr. John Earle was appointed Dean of Westminster.
He enjoyed this dignity only for a brief term, but during the
period he was unceasing in his endeavours to promote the
interests of the School and the welfare of the Scholars.

Since that time the Institution has not undergone any
material alteration.

The Bui/dings.-^The principal buildings in connexion with
Westminster are the School itself, with the library attached to
it; the dormitory of the College; College Hall; and the
boarding-houses of the town-boys.

The approach to the School, which stands in Little Dean*s-
yard, and is graced by a stone portal, attributed to Inigo Jones,
is through a low Gothic arch of the latter part of the thirteenth
century. Ott the right side of the yard are the residence of the
Under Master and two boarding-houses, and at the opposite
end, adjoining the entrance to the School, is the dormitory of
the College. On the left is Ashburnham House, memorable
to the lovers of learning as the place where the manuscripts of
Sir Robert Cotton were kept before their removal to the British
Museum, and where many invaluable treasures were destroyed
by fire October 23, 1731.

12a 735^ Great Schools of England.

The School^ originally the dormitory of the monks of St
Feter^s, is of great antiquity : it has a massive roof of chestnut,
and a semicircular apse or recess at the upper end, once, per-
haps, the site of an altar. This apse is termed the " Shell,"
the name given also to the form next below the sixth, who sit
there. The same appellation is adopted at Harrow, at the
Charterhouse, and elsewhere. Around the School (till some
recent detestable innovations had defaced the time-honoured
aspect of this room) were four tiers of benches, one above
another ; and on the side walls, over the Shell, and in every
other available space, are carved or painted the names of those
who have been educated at the School during several generations
(in one instance, if our memory serves us truly, six such genera-
tions are still legible) — endearing records of many who have
since made their names immortal in the annuls of their country.
Until these modem " improvements," indeed, the walls, nay,
the woodwork of the forms spoke eloquently of the illus-
trious dead; the name of "glorious John Dryden." among
others, being perfectly legible in deeply<ut characters on a
solid bench fronting the Shell Many other names very dear
V to Westminsters, though of less public interest, have been ruth-

lessly obliterated : this great one, we trust, has been preserved.
To the true Westminster there is no room in the world that
possesses half the interest of the old School. £very nook of
it is associated with pleasant, or at least impressive, recollec-
tions ; and these, whatever the vicissitudes of his subsequent
career, are never utterly erased. The feelings which a visit to
the ancient School are calculated to revive have been well
described by a writer in the Guardian of April 22, 17 13 : —
" Upon a late election of King's Scholars my curiosity drew
me to Westminster School The sight of a place where I had
not been for many years, revived in my thoughts the tender
images of my childhood which, by a great length of time, had
contracted a softness that rendered them inexpressibly agree-
able. As it is usual with me to draw a secret unenvied pleasure
from a thousand incidents overlooked by other men, I threw
myself into a short transport, foi^getting my age, and fancying

t

Westminster. 123

myself a schoolboy." And how deeply the early studies of
such a place are prized by the ripe student, has been beautifully
expressed by one of the noblest and best of the sons of Eton :
— " The more extended his sphere of learning in the literature
of modem Europe, the more deeply, though the more wisely,
will he reverence that of classical antiquity ; and, in declining
age, when the appetite for magazines and reviews and the ten-
times repeated trash of the day has failed, he will retire, as it
were, within a circle of his schoolfellow-friends, and end his
secular studies, as he began them, with his Homer, his Horace,
and his Shakespeare." ^

These memories, as part of the poetry which is intertwined
with every life, even the most prosaic, were assuredly more
vivid before the immense predominance of periodical literature.
The student at one of the great Schools a century or two ago,
had but one source of intellectual culture ; the student of the
same School to-day, possesses a thousand sources, and thus
the impressions are multiplied till they lose their grasp and
individuality. Happy they in olden time to whom the School
and the College were all in all ! They who were satisfied to
know well rather than to know much, whose maxim was
" multum nan tnulta^^ and whose ideas, if few, were lofty and
ennobling.

It was at '' untaintedly loyal '' Westminster that the dauntless
South, then a boy at school, and reader that morning of the
customary Latin prayers, prayed publicly for King Charles I.
by name on the fatal 30th of January, 1648, "but an hour or
two before the monarch's head was struck off." Here, too, the
famous Busby is reported to have walked beside Charles II.
with his head covered, apologizing at the same time to fEe
King for this apparent breach of decorum, by saying that, if his
boys supposed there were any greater in the realm than he,
there would be at once an end to his authority. Here, also,
it was — ^as is more fully narrated below — that the disreputable

^ The late Lord Lpi^unt, when in his eighty-fifth year, detennined to
recommence his Greek, and applied to Mr. Gladstone for advice as to the
choice of the best lexicon.

V

T24 The Great Schools of England.

bookseller Curll, was rightly castigated by the boys for printing
a mangled version of an oration spoken by the captain of the
School, at the interment of Dr. South, July 13, 1716.

The Upper and Lower Schools were originally divided by a*
bar from which a curtain was suspended. In connexion with
this curtain a remarkable story will be found in No. 313 of the
Spectator. It is told of a boy who was saved by a schoolfellow,
when at Westminster, from a cruel flogging at the hands of Dr.
Busby for having torn asunder the curtain in question. The
boy who to spare his companion received the punishment, is
known to have been William Wake, the father of Archbishop
Wake. He took part in the Civil Wars on the Rojral side, and
suffered severely. At length, becoming implicated in Pen-
ruddock's rising, he was seized, and tried for his life at Exeter.
It happened that the very schoolfellow for whom many years
previously he had undergone the flogging, was the Judge on
that Western Circuit The trial of the rebels, as they were
then called, was very s^ort, but when about to pass sentence
upon them, the Judge hearing the name of his old friend,
looked at Wake attentively and asked him if he were not
formerly a Westminster Scholar. Being convinced by the
answer that the unfortunate prisoner before him was no other
than the noble fellow who had taken his fault and punishment
upon him at school, he determined, if possible, to rescue Wake
from death. Accordingly, when the trial was over, without
saying a word on the subject to any one, the grateful Judge
started off at once to London, and, by his influence with
Cromwell, succeeded in saving the life of his early friend. We
may add that the curtain has long since disappeared, though
a singular custom is still kept up at the spot where the Upper
and Lower Schools are separated. On Shrove Tuesday, the
College cook, preceded by a veiger, comes into morning school
and tosses a pancake over the bar into the Upper School^ A

^ Curiously enough, the great bell that used to be rung on Shrove
Tuesday to call people to be ihriven by the priest was known as ^t pancake
bdl, a name it retained so late as 1791 in some parts of Leicestershire. —
Macaulay's ''History of Claybrook," p. 218.

;»

Westminster. 125

similar custom, it is said, prevailed formerly at Eton ; and in
an old MS. in the British Museum, entitled the " Status Scholae
Etonensis a.d. 1560,'' it is related that the ''cook of the school
was in the habit on that day of coming into school and fasten-
ing a pancake to a crow,'' and that the boys had a holiday from
eight o'clock in the morning. Be this as it may, the practice
of celebrating Shrove Tuesday (or Carnival Day) with pancakes,
is certainly a very ancient one. Shakespeare, of course, alludes bj^
to it, for what custom of his time passes unnoted by him?
"As fit as Tib's rush for Tom's forefinger, as z, pancake for
Shrove Tuesday, a morris for May Day," &c. — Alfs Well that
Ends Well, ii. 2. So, too, Gayton, in his Festivous Notes on
Don Quixote p. 99, speaking of Sancho Panza having con-
verted a cassock into a wallet, says : — " It was serviceable
after this greasie use for nothing but to preach at a carnival or
Shrove Tuesday, and to tosse pancakes in after the exercise ; or
else (if it could have been conveighed thither) nothing more
proper for the man that preaches the coolies sermon at Oxford,
when that plump society rides upon their Govemour's horses
to fetch in the enemie, the Hie^

The Dormitory, — On the western side of the College gardens
is the dormitory, an ugly modem structure erected during the
early part of the last century, from designs by the Earl of
Burlington, to replace the original building of the date a.d.
1380, which stood in Great Dean's-yard, and had once been
the granary of the monastery. This edifice consists internally
of one chamber, 161 feet long and 25 feet broad, and is of
interest to the public mainly from being the theatre in which
for very many years the plays either of Terence or Plautus
have been annually acted by the boys. The completion of
the new dormitory was celebrated by the rival of Dryden,
Elkanah Settle, himself an old Westminster, in a poem entitled
Musce Sacellum, or the Muse^ Address to the Right Honourable
the Earl of Burlington, on the erecting the New Dormitory for
the Kin^s Scholars at Westminster, Settle was Poet Laureate
to the City of London, and is remembered chiefly iov the
sarcasms of Dryden, who lashed him under the name of

1 26 The Great Schools of England.

Doeg in Absalom and Achitophel ;^ as did Pope in the
Dunciad? At the close of his literary career, poor Settle is
said to have been reduced to act a green dragon of his own
invention at Bartholmew Fair, hence Pope's well-known lines : —

** Yet lo ! in me what authors have to brag on I
Reduced at last to hiss in my own dragon !
Avert it. Heaven, that thou, my Gibber, e*er
Should'st wag a serpent's tail in Smithfield Fair ! '*

It is with reference to this custom (the performance of plays
by boys, though rather in our Universities than our preparatory
public schools) that Milton, in reply to an antagonist who had
accused him of ** haunting play-houses," observes : — ^** In the
Colleges so many of the young divines, and those in next
aptitude to divinity, have been seen so often upon the stage,
writhing and unboning their clergy limbs to all the antic and
dishonest gestures of Trinculo's buffoons and bawds ; prosti-
tuting the shame of that ministry which either they had or
were nigh having, to the eyes of courtiers and court ladies,
their grooms and mademoiselles. There, while they acted and
over-acted, among other young scholars, I was a spectator;
they thought themselves gallant men, and I thought them fools ;
they made sport and I laughed; they mispronounced, and
I misliked ; and, to make up the Atticism, they were out, and
I hissed." ^

We know, however, that at a very early period " Miracle

1 ** Doeg, though without knowing how or why,
Made still a blundering kind of melody ;
Spurred boldly on and dashed through thick and thin,
Through sense and nonsense never out nor in,
Free from all meaning whether good or bad,
And in one word, heroically mad.
He was too warm on picking work to dwell.
But faggotted his notions as they fell,
And if they rhymed and rattled, all was well.*'
&c &C. &c.

* '* Now night descending, the proud show is o'er,
But lives in Settle's numben one day more."

» Apology for Smeefymnus.

Westminster. 127

Plays/' as they were called, having reference to incidents in our
Saviour^s history, were constantly represented, and that it was
customary to select for such performances certain special
days or seasons, as the Ludus CaventruPy on the festival of
Corpus Christi. Again, it was usual, when the King or Queen
made progresses through the countiy, to greet them at the
universities and principal towns with plays, masks, and inter-
ludes, many of which are still preserved. Some authorities,
however, and Mr. Warton amongst them, conceive the ancient
custom of the " Boy-Bishop " at Salisbury and other cathedral
towns (the ceremonials of which at Canterbury, Westminster,
and elsewhere, have been frequently described) to have afforded
the first rude suggestions for dramatic exhibitions.^ To this
source, indeed, Mr. Warton attributes the Eton anniversary
festival of going " Ad Montem," as well as the popular practice
of theatrical processions in collegiate bodies. To one or other
of these originals, we in all probability owe the idea of the
Westminster Play. There is, however, this distinction, that
at Westminster the performance was evidently designed from
the beginning as a ready and effectual means of keeping up the

^ Our modem drama undoubtedly sprung from the drama of the middle

ages, which had the Church as centre and as scene. But how did the

dramatic element find its entrance into the Church ? From the direct and

indirect influence of Paganism. Among the Greeks and Romans, apart

from the grand drama, there was a more popular drama — a variety of

scenic displays for the multitude, and it was this popular drama, and not

the grand drama, out of which the drama of the middle ages grew. The

drama of the middle ages is not yet dead, as the following anecdote, which

we owe to a French writer, clearly proves — '*In 1821 a priest was

appointed, shortly before Christmas, the curate of a village in Flanders, of

whose customs he was ignorant He had just began the Midnight Mass

when he was startled by seeing an artificial star flashing above his head.

At this signal the doors of the Church opened, and forthwith there entered

several shepherds and shepherdesses, leaping and dancing with joy, and

leading some of their sheep. The curate, bewildered with the scene,

wished to interpose his authority; he was as little understood by the

shepherds as their sheep ; the latter, as well as the former, persisting in the

singular ceremony till it was concluded. Offerings of eggs and of cheese

were then laid at the foot of the holy cradle, and the exulting throng

departed."

128 The Great Schools of England.

spirit of classical education. This was plainly Queen Elizabeth's
intention, since she expresses her desire that the plays of
Terence may be acted by her boys: — ^^*Quo juventus turn
actioni turn pronunciationi decenti melius se assuescat'*
(whereby the boys may be better accustomed to correct action
and elocution).

The earliest notice we have found of the study of Terence
at Westminster, occurs in Strype's life of the famous Dean
Nowell, who was the second Head Master. Speaking of
him, Strype says : — ** When he was at Westminster School he
brought in the reading of Terence for the better learning the
pure Roman style." Dr. Barnes is also noticed as having intro-
duced Terence " and Tully into his College of Augustines at
Cambridge, instead of barbarous Duns and Dorbel." It is
natural that among the records of those who have been edu-
cated at Westminster we should find frequent allusions to the
plays in which so many of the most distinguished have taken
part. An interesting reference of the kind occurs in a letter
from the celebrated Bishop Atterbury (at that time Dean of
Christ Church) addressed to Trelawney, Bishop of Winchester,
in which he describes the delight he had experienced in wit-
nessing the acting of the Bishop's son : — " I had written again
to your Lordship," he says, " on Saturday, but that I spent the
evening in seeing Phormio acted in the College chamber —
where in good truth, my Lord, Mr. Trelawney played Antipho
extremely well, and some parts he performed admirably. Your
Lordship may depend upon it that in what place soever he
stands he shall go first of the election to Oxford, and shall
have all the assistance and advantages there that it is possible
for a Dean of Christ Church to give him." In another letter,
Bishop Atterbury praises young Trelawne/s acting in the play
of Ignoramus, English plays were occasionally acted by the
boys of those days, though independently, we apprehend, of
the regular comedies of Terence; for in 1695, Cleomenes, a
play by Dryden, was performed at Westminster, on which
occasion Lord Buckhurst spoke a prologue, which has been
preserved.

^■OTHPlOTi^^BiVMBB^^I^V^H^^^VHH

Westminster. 129

One of the most noticeable performances was that of the
winter of 1749, when three boys, all subsequently well known,
appeared in Phormio. These were Colman, who played Geta;
Lloyd, Demipho; and Hobart, afterwards conductor of the
Italian Opera, who acted Antipho. Still later, it is recorded
that Garrick was a frequent visitor to the dormitory, and he is
said to have warmly commended the acting of Tattersell (who
was head of his election in 1770) in the part oi Phormio.

With regard to the costume, there was till recently, in the
manner these pieces were put upon the stage, but little that
could remind a student of Roman manners that he was wit-
nessing a scene enacted in a Roman forum. A great improve-
ment, however, was made by Dr. Williamson, soon after he
became Head Master, in 1828, and attention was drawn by
him to the correct representation of the habiliments of the
actors in a brief but learned pamphlet entitled Eunuchus
Paliiatus. What the character of the scenery was at an early
period of the School's history it is, perhaps, vain to inquire ;
but those scenes with which all but the youngest Westminsters
are familiar are said to have been arranged from suggestions of
Garrick, and to have been presented to the School by Arch-
bishop Markham, its Head Master from 1753 to 1764. They
were not very creditable to the taste of the English Roscius,
and have fortunately been replaced by others far more beautiful
and appropriate, from the pencil of Professor C. R. Cockerel 1,
himself one oft he warmest friends of that School in which he
received his earliest education.

In 1847, when there was a talk of abolishing the annual
celebration, a memorial was addressed to the Dean and Chapter
of Westminster signed by nearly xmp hundred old Westminsters,
in which the memorialists record their " firm and deliberate
belief^ founded on experience and reflection, that the abolition
of the Westminster Play cannot fail to prove prejudicial to the
interests and prosperity of the School." The play was again
suspended for two years, but the authorities of the School have
since revived it, and select annually the best comedies of
Plautus and Terence for their Christmas representations.

1 30 Hie Great Schools of England,

The College Hall, a structure about 47 feet long by 27^ feet
wide, is an elegant building of the reign of Edward III., erected
as a refectory for the Abbot by Abbot Littlington. It adjoins
the celebrated Jerusalem Chamber. The pavement is a
chequered pattern of Turkish marble, and on the corbels of
the roof are the (traditional) arms of Edward the Confessor,
Nicholas Littlington, and other Abbots. The tables are be-
lieved to have been framed of wood taken from the wreck of
the Spanish Armada. At the South end is the usual galler}'
for musicians, now casemated towards the hall and employed
as a pantry, behind which are the butteries and hatches.

The Library of the School is a very poor one ; it consists of
old classical and mathematical works of little interest or value.
An addition of 300 volumes of English books has been made
to it, which is maintained by a yearly payment of 55. from
each Queen's Scholar. In the Senior Assistant's boarding-
house there is a library of about 600 volumes in various classes
of literature, which is supported by each boarder paying loj.
per annum. At the second boarding-house a smaller library,
also maintained by subscriptions from the boarders, has
recently been formed. The School has no other collections
or apparatus of its own.

Westminster has been peculiarly fortunate in the number of
celebrated men who at various periods of her history have
dedicated their best days to the instruction of her sons. Among
the most notable of these were Alexander Nowell, the author
of the famous Catechism, W. Camden, and Dr. Busby in
earlier times, and, more recently, Archbishop Markham and
Dean Vincent Nowell in his day was as renowned a fisher
as Izaak Walton became a century later, and is, accordingly,
represented in his picture at Brazennose with the hooks and
lines and other ensigns of his favourite sport, and an in-
scription under it, ending with the words " Piscator Hominumr
Fuller, in his quaint way, says of him, "Whilst Nowell was
a-catching of fishes, Bonner was a-catching of Nowell, and,
understanding who he was, designed him for the shambles."
The danger he was in, indeed, was so urgent that he dared not

Westminster* 131

return to his own house to make preparation for flight; so,
"like an honest angler, he had taken provision for the day,
and when, in the first year of England's deliverance, he returned
to his country and his old haunts, he remembered that on the
day of his flight he had left a bottle of beer in a safe place on
the bank." There he searched for it, " but found no bottle,
but a gun, such was the sound at the opening thereof;" and
"this," adds Fuller, "is believed (casualty is the mother of
more inventions than industry) the original of bottled ale in
England." Nowell was Dean of St Paul's from a.d. 1561 to
A.D. 1 60 1, and for more than thirty years preached the first
and last sermons in Lent before the Queen, " wherein he dealt
plainly and faithfully with her without dislike," except on one ^
occasion, when she called out to him " to retire from that un- ffr
godly digression and to return to his text." Ta William
Camden, the immortal author of The Britannia^ Westminster
owes the compilation of her first Greek grammar, Institutio
Grcecce Grammaticoe compendiaria, in usum Schoia Regice West^
monasteritnsis — a work which, published originally in 1597,
has since passed through more than a hundred editions. In
Oxford he founded the Professorship of History which bears
his name. Anthony k Wood says of Camden that he "was an
exact critic and philologist, an excellent Grecian, Latinist, and
historian, and, above all, a profound antiquary, as his elaborate
works do testify."

Of Richard Busby we have already spoken. He carried his
sceptre with unswerving dignity for the unparalleled length of
fifty-seven years, and during all the vicissitudes of the period
he maintained the ancient loyalty of the School.^

^ I He is buried in the Abbey, and his epitaph does not unduly extol him
I when it declares, ^*quacunque demum sit fama ScHOLiB Westmonas-
/ TERiENSis, quicquid indc ad homines fructus redundariiy BUSBSIO maxime
i dOetur:*

K 2

i3» 1^^ Great Schools of England.

CHAPTER II.

STATISTICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS. "

I. The Foundation. — Upon the foundation of Westminster
School by Queen Elizabeth, it was not endowed with any
permanent or independent source of income. The cost of
maintaining it was to fall on the revenues at the disposal of
the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. In the election of the
forty Scholars who were to receive a free education in Latin,
Greek, and Hebrew, preference was to be given to choristers
and to the sons of Chapter-Tenants. This enactment, however,
does not seem to have received any practical recognition. The
Scholars were to have an allowance of a small annual sum for
commons in Hall, and were to receive gowns. It was further
provided that there should be engaged for their instruction a
Head and an Under Master, with certain annual allowances.
In addition to the forty Scholars, the masters were to be per-
mitted to educate with them other boys, of whom some were
to be admitted as Pensioners, having commons in the Hall
with the forty Scholars, provided their payment for the same
was guaranteed by a tutor. The total number of the School,
however, it was stipulated should not exceed 1 20.

II. The Government, — The government of the whole School,
so far as regards the discipline, instruction, and the ordinary
School regulations, may be described as an absolute monarchy,
for it is vested entirely in the hands of the Head Master ;
though the Dean and Chapter of Westminster can, if they
think proper, exercise a certain control in the case of the
Scholars on the Foundation.

III. Visitors, — By the power of visitation which Queen

Westminster. 133

Elizabeth retained for herself and her successors in the Statutes,
the reigning sovereign is always Visitor of Westminster School,
and it is said that down to the present day the power is more
than a mere form. So late as 1846, the father of one
Queen's Scholars energetically complained to the Queen,
Visitor, that his son had been cruelly treated by three
other scholars, and Her Majesty commanded an immediate
investigation of the complaint.

IV. Masters and their Duties. — The Statutes, it has been
observed, contemplate only two Masters, styled respectively
Archididascalus and Hypodidascalus. These Masters had ori-
ginally their maintenance in Hall, in common with other
members of the Foundation ; their place being at the second
table.

The statutable allowance for the Head Master annually was —

For stipend, xii/ii^«
For livery, xxxsol.
For commons, vi lib. xx d.

The Under Master in like manner was yearly allowed : —

For stipend, vii/i^. -visoL yiij</.
For livery, xxiij sol. \yd.
For commons, vi lib. xx d.

There are now in Westminster School a Head Master,
an Under Master, and four Classical Assistant Masters, a
Mathematical Assistant, an Arithmetical Assistant, and a
French Assistant. All the Assistant Masters are appointed?
by the Head Master. He himself and the Under Master!
are appointed by the Dean of Christ Church and the Master
of Trinity alternately, with the consent of the Dean of
Westminster.

The Head Master has the Sixth Form in his own hands, the
Under Master has the Under School, and other Masters have
each his own division. The Head Master has the duty of
generally superintending the Upper School ; the Under Master
has the immediate charge of the College.

Emoluments of Masters, &»c. — The Head Master is paid a

134

The Great Schools of England.

fixed stipend by the Dean and Chapter, in respect of the tuition
of the Queen's Scholars, of 39/. 6j 8d. and the Under Master
receives on the same account a yearly payment of 15/. To
the Assistants no settled salary is given, but for each of the
Queen's Scholars are annually paid in fees by his parents or
guardians 17/. 17^. and by the Dean and Chapter 7/. 7^.
For each of the Town boys, the yearly sum paid in fees
amounts to 26/. 5^. There is also an entrance fee of 10/. lor.
from each Town boy, and there are, besides, leaving fees ;
but these do not appear to be considerable. The aggregate
sum, which, with the exception of the leaving fees, is divided
among the Masters and Assitants, amounts on an average of
the last five years, to 3,042/. i8x. to which have been recently
added certain fees from a new grant of the Chapter for each
Queen's Scholar, amounting to 294/. making a total (supposing
120 boys and 25 entrances in the year) of 3,336/. i8j.^

The general results as regards the salaries of the Masters and
Assistants are thus stated : —

Tuition
Fees.

Leaving
Fees.

Stipend and
Allowances.

Total.

£

£

£

£

Head Master . . • •

1,054

80

39

1. 1 73

Under Master • • • .

S8o

33

15

628

First Assistant ....

27s

—

27s

Second Assistant . . .

240

"■•

50
(Church Ushership).

290

Third Assistant . . .

210

—

—

210

Mathematical Assistant .

250

—

250

Arithmetical Assistant .

«77

—

—

277

French Assistant • . .

132

132

;^3»23S

Over and above their share of the tuition fees, the First and
Second Assistants are privileged to keep boarding-houses, and
the Third Assistant is allowed to increase his income by private

* Report^ p. 168.

Westminster, 135

tuition. The profits annually derivable from these sources are^
it is s^id, as follows : —

£

First Assistant 260

Second ditto 270

Third ditto 40

Upon the whole the amount of funds available for the
general purposes of tuition at Westminster seems scarcely
adequate to the purpose, and it is to be expected that the
Chapter, who command a revenue exceeding 60,000/. per
annum, will think fit to adopt the recommendation of the
Royal Commissioners, and take upon themselves the whole
cost of educating the Queen's Scholars, and that the annual
charge for the tuition of Town boys will be increased.

QUEEN»S SCHOLARS.

The Westminster boys may be classified thus : —

ist. The forty Queen's Scholars. ) belonging to

2d Four boys on the Foundation of Bishop Williams. ( the CoUege.

3d. The Town boys who are full boarders. ") belonging

4th. The Town boys who are half boarders. > to the

5th. Home boarders. ) SchooL

Candidates for admission to the Foundation (the members
of which are called Queen's Scholars, and are limited in
number by the statutes to forty) must be under fifteen years of
age on the ist of January in the year of election, and must
have been a year previously in the School. They are examined
by the electors, with whom likewise rests the selection of those
bo3rs among the seniors who are to receive at the Universities
the exhibitions belonging to the School. These electors are
the Dean of Westminster, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford,
and the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, assisted by two
examiners from their respective Colleges, called Posers, and
the Head Master. The real test of qualification, however, is
by a system of competition, which recalls to mind those grand
scholastic disputations before assembled thousands in the
mediaeval ages, and which is termed " the challenge." All
the candidates for vacant places in the College are presented

1

:]

i^^^mr

136 TAe Great Schools of England.

to the Master in the order of their Forms. The number of
vacancies every year is usually about ten. The two lowest
■ boys come up before the Head Master, having prepared a
' certain portion of Greek epigram and Ovid's Metamorphoses
which has been set them a certain number of hours before.
In the preparation of these passages they have the assistance
of some elder boys, called " helps,*' with whom, besides, they
' have usually been working for months beforehand in antici-
pation of the struggle. The lower of the two boys is the
challenger. He calls on the boy whom he challenges to
translate the passage set them, and if he can detect and correct
any fault in the translation he takes the upper boy's place.
The latter then becomes the challenger, and proceeds in the
same way. When the translation is finished the boy who
happens then to be left in the position of challenger has the
right of putting questions in grammar, and if the challenged
cannot answer them correctly, and the challenger does, the
former loses his place. In this manner they continue to attack
each other until the stock of questions is exhausted. The
^'helps'' stand by during the contest, and act as counsel to
their " men " in case there be any doubt as to the cor-
rectness of a question or answer, and the Head Master sits
as moderator and decides the point in dispute. The boy who
at the end of the challenge is found to have finally retained his
post can subsequently challenge the boy next above him in the
list of candidates for admission, and may thus fight his way up
through the roll of competitors.^ This struggle, which is
peculiar to Westminster, and is highly prized by old West-
minsters generally, frequently extends over six to eight weeks :
the ten who are highest at its close obtaining admission to the
Foundation in the order in which they stand.

Accommodation of the Queen's Scholars, — ^Within the last twenty
years there has been great improvement in the accommodation of
the boys on the Foundation. Up to 1846, there was one large
dormitory, in which all the 40 Queen's Scholars lived by day
and slept at night, without any provision whatever, in the shape

1 Evidence before the Royal Commissioners^

Westminster. 137

of private rooms, for study. They dined, as at present, in the
College Hall, but resorted for their breakfasts (and also for
their board when sick), to the boarding-houses to which they
had respectively belonged when Town boys. The cost of
maintenance, together with that for tuition, averaged from 8o/.
to 100/. per annum for each boy. By the advice and under
the personal supervision of Dean Buckland, who was of opinion
that under the statutes the Queen's Scholars were entitled to
gratuitous board, various improvements were effected ; in
consequence of which the boys are better lodged and fed, and
the expenses very materially reduced. Under the new arrange-
ments, the dormitory is divided into forty distinct cubicles, or
sleeping-places, ranged on each side of a central passage which
extends the whole length of the building, and separated from
each other by permanent partitions of about eight feet high,
and from the passage by partitions in which curtains are
substituted for the panels.

There have been also provided beneath the dormitory, by
closing up what in the original construction of the building was
an open cloister, two spacious rooms for the Junior Elections
(or divisions of the Queen's Scholars) to read in, with a certain
number of small studies partitioned off, and each holding two
of the upper boys. The sanatorium connected with the dormi-
tory, and intended for the use of the Queen's Scholars, was
built at the time the alterations just spoken of were made, and
is very well adapted for its purpose. It is under the charge of
a resident matron. The Chapter have also formed, of late, a
covered playground for the Queen's Scholars, at a very con-
siderable expense.^

Diet, — ^The Queen's Scholars breakfast, dine, and sup in
the College Hall. The quality of the food is said to be unex-
ceptionable, but complaints are made that there is too much
sameness, and that the quantity at supper is occasionally
insufficient.

The boys ordinarily have tea or coffee in College after their
Hall supper. This is made by the Juniors, but is paid for by

* Report, p. 161.

^^^^P^i^B^i9HVt^S^P>^^9^:9?^^"^^iV^P^PW^^P^Pa«««' - -Li^l^

138 755^ Great Schools 0/ England,

the boys of the two upper divisions, and the lower boys partake
of what remains after the higher ones have finished.

Subject always to the authority of the Head Master, which
is alike supreme in the College and in the School, the Under
Master is specially charged with the moral and spiritual super-
intendence of the forty Queen's Scholars, as to their behaviour
in College, in Hall, and in the Abbey. He occupies a house
adjoining the dormitory, and is in the habit of assembling the
Queen's Scholars in College every evening at ten o'clock for
family prayers. He frequently attends the College Hall dinner
to hear the Scholars say their Latin grace ; he visits them in
sickness ; and four times a year he prepares all who have been
confinned for the reception of the Holy Communion.

Expenses of the Queen's Scholars. — Each Scholar had, by
Statute —

For livery, xiijj. \\d.
For commons, Ixj. xd.

Extra allowances were given to meet the expenses of the table
on festivals and holidays.

In later times, before the year 1846, the Queen's Scholars
were attached to some boarding-house, where they obtained
most of their meals, for which they paid twenty-four guineas a
year; they also paid seventeen guineas tuition fees, and ten
guineas for corrections, or private tuition. Since that period
the Dean and Chapter have undertaken the entire maintenance
of these Scholars, and within the last three years have granted
an annual sum of seven guineas for each Queen's Scholar in
augmentation of the inadequate tuition fees paid by parents.

The items now charged to the parents of a Queen's Scholar

annually are as follows : —

£ J. d.
Tuition fees 17170

Matron and servants in sanatorium 440

Daily medical attendance i I o

Servants in College 440

Fire and lights 220

Washing 550

Total £^A 13 o

Westminster. 139

For special instruction in classics and mathematics, for drawing,
singing, or fencing, the rates are the same as for the Town
boys. — See Expenses of Town Boys.

BISHOP WILLIAMS' SCHOLARS.

In addition to the Queen's Scholars, there are four boys on
the Foundation of Bishop Williams (Lord Keeper in the reign
of James L), whom he appears to have intended to add to the
Foundation, but never provided funds for carrying his purpose
into effect. Under a rule of the Court of Exchequer made in
April, 1836, they are to be elected from boys bom in Wales
and in the diocese of Lincoln alternately, and, in default of
these, from Westminster. Vacancies to be advertised. The
income of the Foundation is about 72/./^ annum in all for
the four boys, and, being in fixed payments, it will not, un-
fortunately, increase. The boys were to have blue gowns
provided for them, and were to receive the rest of their dividend
in books. Dr. Liddell, the late Master, abolished the blue
gowns, which were a source of annoyance to the wearers, and
offered to parents to remit all tuition fees on condition that the
money (about 17/.) payable to each boy yearly should go to
the School funds ; and this is the present usage. ^

THE SCHOOL,

There appears to be no doubt that, from a very early date
other boys besides the forty Foundation Scholars were taught
at Westminster, under the name of Pensionarii^ Oppidani^ or
Peregrini et alii. The number of such boys was limited by the
statutes to 80 ; but from as early a time as the year 1600, the
statutory limitation has been practically set aside. Thirty-five
years ago the total number of the School, Collegers and all, was
about 300 ; in 1843 it was only 77. Since 1849 there has been

I Report t p. 163,

140

Tlu Great Schools of England.

little variation^ the maximum being in 1854, 141, the minimum
in i860, 123. The number at present is about 140.^

The Pensionarii^ answering to the Commemales of Eton, were
to receive a gratuitous education, and to be lodged and boarded
by the College with the Queen's Scholars at a stipulated rate
of charge. Each boy of this class was to provide himself, like
a Queen's Scholar, with a tutor, who was to be responsible for
him to the College. The " oppidans, strangers, and others "
were not required to have a tutor. It is manifest, however,

^ The following is a return of the number of boys in the School from
1846 to i860 :—

Year.

Number of Boys.

Entrances.

Queen's

Scholam.

Other
Boarders.

Home
Boarders.

Total.

Boarders

(indudtng

Queen's

Scholars.

Home
Boarders.

Total

1846

36

17

26

79

25

6

31

1847

38

50

16

104

38

3

41

1848

40

66

18

124

34

7

41

1849

40

75

22

137

26

8

34

1850

40

78

18

136

36

2

38

1851

40

77

20

137

25

6

3»

1852

40

81

20

141

21

10

3»

1853

40

78

23

141

26

8

34

1854

40

78

23

141

30

5

35

1855

40

78

19

137

17

4

21

1856

40

65

24

129

19

8

27

1857

40

65

25

130

24

10

34

1858

40

74

28

142

30

5

35

1859

40

66

25

131

16

6

22

i860

40

54

26

120

II

4

15

Summary of entrances by Decades from 182 1 to 1 86a

Decade.

Boarders.

Home Boarders.

Total

1 82 1 to 1830 inch . .
1831 „ 1840 . . .
184I „ 1850 . . .
1851 „ i86oQune 13)

426

147
231
219

142

69
61

66

568
216
292
285

WestminsUr. 141

that they were to share in the instruction and the general
advantages of the School, and from their ranks mainly the
Foundation was to be recruited.^

It does not appear that they were to be taught gratuitously ;
and they were to defray the expense of their own board and
lodging.

Arrangement 0 fthe School into Forms — Course of Study ^ &*c.

The School is distributed into ten forms, which are arranged
for the purposes of tuition in six divisions. The forms are
disposed as follows : —

Sixth Form

Third ^ ^nder 1 ^^^^^ School.

Of these, as we have seen, the Head Master takes the Sixth
Form, and the Under Master, besides having ^e partial charge
of the Under Fourth, takes the Under School The other
Divisions are allotted to four Assistant Masters.

The Mathematical divisions of the School are generally co-
incident with the Classical. If, however, a boy is so far
advanced beyond his class-mates as to make this regulation
an injustice to him, his case is treated exceptionally.

In French the two highest forms are thrown together, and
divided anew to form the French classes; the same is done
with the youngest

Greek and Latin, those languages which Hobbes finely said
'* have put off flesh and blood, and become immutable,*' form
the staple of Westminster education, almost to the exclusion
indeed of other studies. It is true that mathematics and

1 Evidence^ vol il p. 199.

142 The Great Schools of England.

French form part of the ordinary School-work, but mathematics,
except in cases of remarkable proficiency, give no claim to
promotion, and French is not permitted to affect the election
at all. No other modem language is taught, nor are there any
appliances at present for the study of Natural Science.

Music and Drawing. — A Singing Class is formed from time
to time under the instruction of Mr. Turle, the organist of the
Abbey.

The Drawing Master attends for three periods of two months
each in the course of the year, and sometimes more if required.
The cost of tuition embraces drawing in pencil, sepia and
water colours, first from copies, and afterwards from models
and various objects, including the architecture of the Abbey
and its precincts.

Promotion, — Removes from one Form, or sub-division of a
Form, to a higher one are given mainly according to pro-
ficiency, estimated partly by the weekly marks for lessons
and exercises and partly by examination. The proportion of
boys who float upwards by seniority is said to be only about
one in eight Twice a year, at Christmas and Whitsuntide,
" trials " take place, in which the boys are required to translate
on paper passages from Greek 'and Latin into English, and
from English into Latin prose and verse, all new to them at the
time. Examinations vivA voce, and on paper, are likewise
conducted by the Masters, by which all the work of the half-
year is tested, no Master being allowed to examine his own
Form. There is also an examination in August, but no "trials."
The marks for examination are then combined in certain pro-
portions with those gained for Form-work, and the order in
which the boys pass to a higher Form is fixed by the result
In estimating the relative value of different subjects, the pre-
sent Head Master, Mr. Scott, considers that classics reckon
as fully two-thirds of the whole, the remaining third being
Greek Testament and Scriptural subjects. History, Geography,
and English, so far as answers to historical and other questions
on paper, may be considered English composition.^

I Evidence,

Westminster, 143

School-hours, — The hours of study in school are, on whole
School-days, viz. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, from
8 to 9, from 10 to 12.30, and from 3.30 to 5.30. On
Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 to 9, and frcm 10 to 12.30.
The boys who ^board at home are permitted to come (having
breakfasted) at 9 instead of 8, one of the Masters remaining
with them in School during the School breakfast hour, viz.
from 9 to 10.

Private Tuition, — In former times a general system of private
tuition, akin to that at Eton, existed at Westminster, for which
10/. los. a year was paid, but the practice has in a great
measure been discontinued.

Exhibitions^ Frizes, &*€, — There are two classes of Exhibi-
tions for boys proceeding to the Universities : —

I St. Those confined to the Queen's Scholars.

2nd. Those open to the whole School.

In the I St class are comprised : —

(a) Three junior Studentships of Christ Church, Oxford,
tenable for seven years. These are augmented by certain bene-
factions, and the total annual value of each is about 120/.

{b) An additional benefaction, from the gift of the late
Dr. Carey, Bishop of St. Asaph, has just fallen in. This pro-
vides 600/. a year to be distributed by the Dean and Canons
of Christ Church, at their annual audit, in sums of not less than
50/. and not more than 100/. to such of the Westminster
Students as shall appear most to need such assistance by reason
of poverty, or to deserve it by reason of industry and diligence.

(c). Three Exhibitions at Trinity College, Cambridge, of the
yearly value of 40/. each, and tenable until the holder be of
standing for his RA degree. In the first year there is an
augmentation from the Samwaie's benefaction, amounting to
about 72/. divided among those elected to the Trinity College
exhibitions. There are, besides, various sums from gifts and
legacies, making up about 87/. annually, which are divided
among the successful candidates from the Foundation in pro-
portion to their need or merit.

2nd. The Exhibitions open annually to the whole School

\

144 The Great Schools of England,

(except such Queen's Scholars as are elected to the Chris
Church scholarships) are : —

{a) Two Exhibitions from the bequest of Dr. Triplett, value
50/. tenable for three years, at any College of the Universities
of Oxford or Cambridge.

ip) An Exhibition provided from the interest of money given
by the late Dr. Thomas, Bishop of Rochester. It is tenable
on the same conditions as the Triplett Exhibitions, and is of
about 40/. annual value. These Studentships, &c. are awarded
according to the report of the examiners at the annual election.
As regards prizes, there is a fund, 1,133 loj. 7^- Reduced
Three per cents, given by Miss Grace A. Slade ; another, value
about 5/. annually, from a Mr. Burton; and another of 514/. 145-.
Consols, the gift of Dean Ireland. The proceeds of these
funds are applicable to provide prizes in books for Latin verse
Composition, Greek verse, and Latin essay, as well as prizes for
the various Forms at the half-yearly examinations. The late
Dean of Westminster, Dr. Trench, also offered the sum of ten
guineas annually in prizes to encourage the study of the Greek
Testament : and there are mathematical prizes, which are given
periodically.

Monitorial System. — To the four head boys on the Founda-
tion, who are called Captain and Monitors, the Head Master
formally, in presence of the assembled School, entrusts the
maintenance of discipline generally, and in respect of the
Queen's Scholars particularly. The head Town boy has a
somewhat similar authority with regard to the Town boys.
The Captain and Monitors have, too, a recognised and limited
power of punishing breaches of discipline, and offences such as
falsehood, bullying, &c. in College. The Sixth Form Town
boys have the same authority in reference to the junior Town
boys.

JFamng, — Fagging exists, and, until a very late period, has
been exercised with peculiar severity, at Westminster. The
present Head Master, who does not appear to entertain a very
high opinion of this custom, has of late laid down some rules
calculated to mitigate the cruel and oppressive duties to which .

Westmifister, 145

fegs are subjected ; but, strange to say, he is not prepared to
introduce or recommend any radical reformation in the system.
^^ Punishments. — Those at Westminster are of the usual descrip-
tion— ^the rod applied to the back of the hand, or, for grave
offences, in the ordinary way of flogging, impositions to be
learnt by heart or written out, confinement in Dean's Yard,
refusal of " leave out,** and, for very aggravated cases, ex-
pulsion. Flogging appears to be of rare occurrence. It takes
place in a room at the back of the school, and is always
inflicted, so far as the Upper School is concerned, by the Head
Master, in the presence of a third person, one of the boys. In
the Under School, pimishment is administered by the Under
Master.

Holidays, — ^The boys are commonly at School thirty-eight
weeks in the year. Their holida)rs comprise three weeks at
Whitsuntide, seven weeks in August and September, and four
at Christmas. Wednesdays and Saturdays are half-holidays ;
Saints' days are holidays, with one hour's school, unless they
fall on Monday, when the Sunday's leave extends to Monday
evening ; and there are a few other holidays (five or six in all)
during the course of the year.

Sports and Pastimes, — The amusements at Westminster are
boating, for which the proximity of the Thames affords the
boys great advantages, cricket, fives, racquet, football, quoits,
sparring, foot-races, leaping, and single-stick. Fencing is
taught as an extra. Swimming is learnt at the baths, and a
boy must know how to swim before he can obtain leave to go
out boating.

Religion. — For religious culture there seems to be ample
provision. The boys attend the Abbey service on Sunday
twice (unless they are absent on leave) and once on Saturday.
On Saints' days they attend either at the ordinary 10 a.m.
service, or at a special (non-choral) service held in the Abbey
at 8 A.M. at which the Masters ofliciate, and the Head or Under
Master preaches. There is an annual confirmation in the end
of June or the beginning of July, at which some Bishop, at the
request of the Dean, ofllciates. The candidates are always

L

/

146 Tk€ GreaS Schools of England,

prepared by the Head Master, and average from fourteen to
twenty in number.^

Boarding Houses. — ^The Town boys, with the exception of
those living at their own homes, are boarded and lodged in
two boarding houses, kept each by an Assistant Master. The
general control of these houses is in the hands of the Head
Master, who has prescribed 35 boys as the limit of numbers in
each. The sleeping rooms in them usually contain from two
to five beds; though occasionally, when there is accommo-
dation, two or three of the elder boys have small single
apartments.

The sitting rooms in which the Town boys study in the
evening are assigned according to the discretion of the
Assistant Master who keeps the house. There is no library or
other place for study at the School except the School-room
and class-rooms themselves.

Diet, — In the boarding houses, breakfast is taken at nine,
dinner at two, and tea at seven. All the food supplied is
represented to be of the best kind, and ample in quantity.

Expenses of Town Boys, — The necessary expenses of a full
boarder, exclusive of Drawing, Fencing, and Gymnastics, are
as under : —

Entrance, ;£'io

£ s. d,

AnnuaUy } ^*^^^ ^^ .... 26 5 o
"^ ( Board, &c. .... 68 5 o

jC94 10 o

There is also a small general subscription for cricket and
football, which seldom exceeds \2s.

No other expense is incurred without the parent's knowledge
and previous consent. With that consent is, a week is given
during the boating season for every boy who goes on the water,
and 2S. 6d, more weekly for members of an "eight" or "eleven."

Half-boarders. — ^A half-boarder (that is, a boy sleeping at
home, but having his dinner four days a week at the School in

* Rfport^ p. 169.

Westminster, 147

one of the boarding houses) pays the same tuition fees as a full
boarder, namely, 10/. at entrance, and 25 guineas per annum.
He pays also 35 guineas yearly to the boarding house Master
for his partial board.

Home-boarders, — ^A home-boarder, of which class there is a
considerable number usually in the School, is a boy who lives
at his parents' house or with friends to whose care his parents
have entrusted him. He pays the same tuition fees as the
others, viz. 10/. at entrance, and 25 guineas annually, and
shares equally in the instruction, the use of the playground, &c.

L 2

148

The Great Schools of England.

CHAPTER III.

EMINENT WESTMINSTERS.
Head Masters from the Establishment of the School.

In 1540.

John Adams.

In 1695. Thomas Knipe.

1543-

Alexander Nowell.

17 1 1. Robert Friend.

John Passey.

1733. John NicolL

1555.

Nicholas Udall.

1753. William Markham.

1563.

John Randall.

1764. John Hinchcliffe.

1564.

Thomas Browne.

Samuel Smith.

1570-

Francis Howlyn.

i8o«. William Wingfield.

'57«-

Edward Grant.

1803. William Caiy.

1593.

William Camden.

1 8 14. William Page.

1599.

Richard Ireland.

18 1 9. £Uiward Goodenough.

1610.

John Wilson.

1828. Richard Williamson.

1623.

T^imbert Osbolstone.

1846. Henry George LiddelL

^ 1638.

Richard Busby.

1855. Charles B. Scott.

St Peter's, Westminster, has reared for every department of
public life, as well in ancient as in modem times, a band of
worthies of whom the Nation and the School may well be proud.

Nine Archbishops head the roll ; among them, Fowler, of
Dufilin ; Agar, of Cashel ; Stone and Robinson, of Armagh ;
Drummond, Blackburne, Dolben, and Vernon Harcourt
of York, and the present Primate, Longley, of Canterbury.
From her threescore Bishops, we may select a few of the best
known : — Corbet, of Norwich, famous as a wit, a poet, and
a satirist ;^ Duppa, of Winchester, who is said to have assisted

c<

1 Corbet was "The Jolly Bishop," whom Fuller describes as of "a
courteous courage and no destructive nature to any who offended him,
counting himself plentifully repaired with a jest"

In old times it was customary for persons who were sojourning at a tavern
to make acquaintance one with another by the present of a draught of wine.

mmsB^^

JVestminster. 149

in the composition of the Ikon Basilike; Hacket, of Lich-
field and Coventry, the quaint, humorous, and learned author
of Scrinia Reserata (a biography of his friend WiDiams,
Lord Keeper of the Great Seal to James I., and successively
Bishop of Lincoln and Archbishop of York) ; Morlev, of
Winchester,^ a Prelate so munificent that even with that
** deep manger" he verified the prophecy of Charles II., and
was never the richer for it; Pearce, of Bangor, and after-
wards of Rochester, whose extreme reluctance to accept ad-
vancement provoked the Duke of Newcastle to tell him
roundly, " If clergymen of merit will not accept bishoprics,
how can ministers of state be blamed if they fill them up
with the undeserving ?" Trelawney, of Bristol, subsequently
of Winchester, and one of **the Seven," was also educated
at Westminster, and contemporary with Trelawney, Francis
Atterbury, the brilliant, versatile and accomplished Bishop
of Rochester, the friend of Pope, Swift, Arbuthnot, and
Gay. It would be easy to extend the list with the names ot
other Prelates almost as eminent as these ; but we close it with
Newton of Bristol, the erudite commentator on Milton's
Paradise Lost Among Westminster's church dignitaries of

So in T%e Merry Wives of Windsor^ Bardolph informs his master, Sir
John Falstafi^ '* there's one Master Brook below would £aiin speak with you,
and be acquainted with you; and hath sent your worship a morning's
draught of sack." In illustration of this pleasant practice there is an
anecdote told of Dr. Corbet and Ben Jonson, as follows : — "Ben Jonson
was at a tiveni, and in comes Bishop Corbet (but not so then) into the next
room. Ben Jonson calls for a quart of rozer wine and gives it to the tapster.
' Sirrah,' says he, * carry this to the gentleman in the next chamber, and
tell him I sacrifice my service to him.' The fellow did, and in these words ;
* Friend,' says Dr. Corbet, ' I thank him for his love ; but pr^y thee tell
him from me that he is mistaken, for xomfices are always burnt' " — Harl,
MSS. 6395. ^**

^ He was Chaplain to Charles I. and the personal friend of Selden and
Whitelocke ; attended Lord Capel on the scaffold, and was sent from Breda
to prepare for the restoration of Charles II. He bad been one of Ben
JoDson's "Sons," and on terms of intimacy with Lord Falkland, Chilling-
worth, and Waller. Bishop Morley was celebrated for his wit. It is told
of him that once when a country gentleman asked, "What do the Arminians
hold? " he replied, "All the best Bishopricks and Deaneries of England."

150 The Great Schools of England.

lower rank, but equal merit, are SogrH, ** the witty Church-
man ;"^ Isaac Barrow ^^ Dr. Fell, of Christ Church, Oxford,

1 We have already mentioned the drcumstance of South's praying for
Cliarles I. by name on the morning when the king was beheaded. The
same spirit of fearlessness appears to have characterised the Westminsters
on more than one occasion since. A few years after the execution of
Charles I., when the mob attempted to break open the gates of West-
minster Abbey, they were beaten back by the boys, aided only by a few of
the servants of the place. On Nov. 5, 1681, we read, '* The Westminster
School boys burned Jack Presbyter instead of the Pope." Another time,
during the contest between the famous Bentley and Serjeant Miller, Dr.
Bentley " sent for Zackary Pearce (afterwards Bishop of Rochester), one of
the aspirants to the vacant fellowship, and suggested that he, being a West-
minster scholar, might bring a body of students educated in that school,
among whom a great esprit de corps existed, to block out the Serjeant by
manual force." It need hardly be said that this suggestion was not actually
adopted; but the proposal serves to illustrate the manner in which Old
Westminsters cltmg together in after life.

Perhaps the most remarkable anecdote of this class is that of the pmilsh-
ment inflicted by the boys on Curll, the publisher, in 17 16, which is told in
a letter, circulated at the time, as follows : —

" King's College, Westminster,

*Marf. 8, 1 716.
" Sir — ^You are desired to acquaint the publick that a certain bookseller,
near Temple Bar (not taking warning by the frequent drubs that he has
undei^one for his often pirating other men's copies), did lately (without the
consent of Mr. John Barber, present captain of Westminster School) publish
the scraps of a funeral oration spoken by him over the corpse of the Revd.
Dr. South, and being, on Thursday last, fortunately nabbed within the
limits of Dean's Yard by the King's Scholars, there he met with a college
salutation : for he was first presented with the ceremony of the blanket, in
which, when the skeleton had been well shook, he was carried in triumph
tO| the school ; and, after receiving a grammatical correction for his £dse
concords, he was reconducted to Dean's Yard, and, on his knees, asking
pardon of the said Mr. Barber for his offence, he was kicked out of the
yard, and left to the huzzas of the rabble. — I am. Sir, yours,

"T. A."

This summary act of vengeance is also described in the ''Carmtna
Quadragesimalia " (L 118, 119); and a print exists representing, in three
separate compartments, the three punishments which Curll underwent

The Latin oration referred to was spoken in College Hall l>efore the
remains of Dr. South were interred in Westminster Abbey, July 13, 17 16.

' Great as a mathematician^ great as a theologian, great as a preacheri.

i

IVestminsUr. 151

on whom Tom Brown composed the hackneyed imitation of
Martial's *' Non amo tc, Sabidu"

"I do not love thee, Dr. Fell/* &a

Humphrey Prideaux, Dean of Norwich, 1702, the leviathan
of Hebrew and Oriental learning; and, nearer to our day,
GooDENOUGH, of Bristol, whose sermons as Chaplain to the
House of Peers, elicited the lively epigram : —

" 'Twas well-enough, that Good-enough, before the Lords should preach,
For sore-enough, that bad-enough, were those he had to teach."

Of the lawyers educated at St. Peter's, may be noted Lane,
the eloquent defender of Earl Strafford; and Glynne, still
more eminent as a Commonwealth lawyer ; Heneage Finch,
Lord Nottingham, the " Amri " of his great school-fellow's
Ahsalam and Ahithophel^ and known to his profession as " The
Father of Equity." Earl Cowper, twice Chancellor, is sup-
posed— ^though the evidence is inferential rather than conclu-
sive— ^to have b6en with his brother Spencer Cowper for some
years at Westminster. Robert Henley, Earl Northington,
also twice Chancellor, was undoubtedly there; and went thence
to St John's College, Oxford, where he imbibed not a little
literature, but with it so much wine, that he was once heard to
mutter as he shuffled his gouty limbs between the bar and the

woolsack in the House of Lords, " By ^ if I had known

\ that these legs were one day to carry a Lord Chancellor, I'd
have taken better care of them when I was young." Sir Thomas
Clarke, Master of the Rolls, was also a Westminster; as
were the famous William Murray, Earl Mansfield ;^ the

Barrow is one of England's noblest sons. Considered simply as a
preacher, he has never been surpassed in weight of idea, in massiveness,
in suggestiveness.

1 Bom in 1705, this great lawyer, the pride of Westminster School, and
the glory of Westminster Hall, was appointed Solicitor-General in 1742,
Attomey-Geneiftl in 1754, and Lord Chief Justice in 1756, which office,
repeatedly refusing the Great Seal, he held for upwards of thirty years.
His early conflicts with the first Pitt, in the House of Commons ; the viru-
lent and brilliant invectives launched at him by Junius in later life ; and the
destruction of his noble library by the Gordon mob in 1780, are well-known

152 The Great Schools of Engiand,

notorious Sir Elijah Impey, Chief Justice of Madias, 1800 ;
Sir Francis Buller ; the late Lord Chief fiaron, Mac-
DONALD, and the late Sir David Dundas, Solicitor-General.

Among our Statesmen — ^whom it is often difficult to separate
from our philosophers, jurists, and men of letters — ^Westminster
claims the younger Vane, whom Milton eulogized as —

f(

Young in years but in sage counsel old.

Than whom no better senator e*er held
The Roman helm ^'

Halifax, "the accomplished Trimmer" of the Revolution;
" downright Shippen ;" William Pultenev, Earl of Bath, a
man of great talent, but not of the most scrupulous principles
or the most elevated ambition ;^ Warren Hastings, " the

episodes in his bright career. While a mere youth, he gained the affection
of Pope, and numberless are the allusions to the young lawyer's parts and
progress, in the Poet's works, from the sportive sarcasm on his two heavy-
headed rivals, — the brother-serjeants of the Temple —

" Each had gravity would make you split,
And shook his head at Murray, as a wit,**

to that solemn but sarcastic reference to the inevitable tomb, —

" Where Murray, long enough his country's pride,
Shall be no more than TuUy, or than Hyde."

I "England, America, and the civilized world," says Dr. Story, the most
I celebrated jurist of the United States, '* lie under the deepest obligations to
' Lord Mansfield. Wherever commerce shall extend its social influences;
wherever justice shall be administered by enlightened and liberal rules ;
wherever contracts shall be expounded on the eternal principles of right and
wrong; wherever moral delicacy and judicial refinement shall be infused
into the municipal code, at once to persuade men to be honest and to keep
them so ; wherever the intercourse of mankind shall aim at something more
elevated than that grovelling spirit of barter, in which meanness, avarice,
and fraud, strive for mastery over ignorance, credulity, and folly, the name
of Lord Mansfield will be held in reverence by the good and the wise, by
the honest merchant, the enlightened lawyer, the just statesman, and the
conscientious judge."

^ Westminsters have an interesting story of a bet made between this
statesman and Sir Robert Walpole in the House of Commons. The wager
related to a passage in Horace, and was won by Pulteney. Sir Rol^rt
Walpole gave him the lost guinea, which is still preserved in the British
Museum, with the following note in the winner's handwriting : —

^s^s^mma^mmmmmmmmtmmmmmmamm

Westminster, 153

great Indian pro-consul ;" the late Marquis of Lansdowne ;
Sir Francis Burdett ; Sir James Graham, and the present
John, Earl RusTeLl.

Of warriors, ^Vestminster has at all times contributed her full
share. Passing over, from lack of space, many heroic names
on her list of early days, we find that of the seven officers of
the British army (not of royal blood) who rose to the rank of
"Field-marshal" between 18 10 and 1856, five were brought
up at Westminster. These were Henry Paget, Marquis of
Anglesey; Thomas Grosvenor; John Byng, Lord Straf-
ford; Stapleton CottoNj'Xord Combermerk ; and Fitzroy
Somerset, Lord Raglan.

These are distinguished names : but if Dr. Johnson is correct
in his assertion that " the glory of every country is its authors,"
Westminster may pride herself no less upon her poets, her
philosophers, her historians, and her men of letters generally,
than upon the eminent in other walks of public life. One of
the earliest of her literary sons was William Gager, 1574,
who is entitled to remembrance as a fine scholar, and as
the author of three Latin dramas, Meleager^ Ulysses Redux^
and Rivaies, all acted with great applause at Christ Church,
Oxford. But for a treatise notable in its day, now happily
forgotten, in which he ai^ed with remarkable erudition for
the proposition, " that it is lawful for husbands to beat their
wives," the fair sex has had few more ardent admirers than
Heall, afterwards of Exeter College, Oxford. Another eccen-
tric, and, in his way, learned man, Coryate, was a Westminster;
as were Will Cartright, of whom Dr. Fell declared, " Cart-
right is the utmost man can come to;" Tom Randolph,

" This guinea I desire may be kept as an heir lombe (sic). It was won of
Sir Robert Walpole, in the House of Commons, he asserting the verse in
Horace to be, ' NuUi pallescere culpa^* whereas I laid the wager of a guinea
that it was, ' Nulld pallescere culpd,'* He sent for the book, and being con-
vinced he had lost, gave me this guinea. I told him I could take the
money without a blush on my side; but believed it was the only money he
ever gave in the House where the giver and receiver ought not both to
blush. This guinea, I hope, will prove to my posterity the use of knowing
Latin, and encourage them in their learning.''

154 ^^ Great Schools of England.

author of 77te Musis Looking Glass; William Hemming, a
dramatic writer of some note in his day ; Hakluyt, author of
Voyages J Navigations^ Traffics^ and Discoverief; ancl, one of the
prime glories of the School, " Rare Ben Jonson ; " ^ Cowley is
another name of note in the annalsoi' Westminster ; ' as is that
of the amiable George Herbert.' Sir John Denham, the
author of Cooper's Hill, is said to have been brougHrup in
this school, as was Jasper Mayne, a dramatist and poet, now
little remembered, but who was greatly admired in his day>
Nat Lee and his illustrious contemporary, John Dryden,^
were both Westminsters. So, also, were ChristophesJ^N^rkn,

^ Jonson is always prondly and afTectionately commemorated by West*-
minsters, as he deserves to be if dramatic excellence almost of the highest
order, united to great scholarship, sound sense, wit, fortitude, and some-
times fine taste, is worthy of admiration. To him English literature owes
not only many noble dramas, but some of the most beautiful lyhcs in the
language. In his plays, as in his learning, he is solid and massive, but he
lacks that diviner element in which his contemporary Shakespeare is
supreme.

* Like Pope, he "lisped in numbers^'Tor his Pyrammand Tkisbe was
written when he was only ten years of age^ and his Constantia and
Philotus when he vras not more than twelve. Mis Cutter cf CoUman
Street offers one of the liveliest pictures of London life towards the middle
of the seventeenth century. But he, who was regarded as the ddicia, decus
it desidrium avi sui, is now little read.

* He was brother of the celebrated Lord Herbert, of Cherbury ; the
trusted favourite of Bacon ; and the friend of Donne and Wotton. His
works, though disfigured by conceits and forced analogies, are as in-
teresting and impressive as his life was beautiful.

^ Mayne was a humourist. He bequeathed to his servant an old tnmk,
which he described as having " something in it which would afford his
legatee a relish to his liquor when he himself diould be no more." The
breath had hardly left Mayne^s body, when the man hastened to the box,
vforced it open, and found — a r^d^ercing 1

' He was trained by Dr. Busby, and completed his education at Trinity
College, Cambridge. He became in early life, and continued to old age, a
man of letters in the most extensive sense of the expression. Regarding
certain aspects of the character, and certain drcumstances in the life, of this
illustrious man, there will always be a diversity of opinion. But that he
was one of the greatest of satirists and of critics, and that his influence on
English literature has been a healthy and highly-benefidal one, cannot be
denied.

'IP ' ■■

Westminster, 155

whose noblest monument is St. Paul's, whose fittest epitaph,
^^ CircumspUe r' Matthew Prior,^ Rowe, the first known
biographer and editor of SEakespeareTlind author of the
JuurPenitent, John Locke, the most eminent, perhaps,
of Busby's scholars ; William Friend, the fellow-sufferer of
Atterbury ; ^ Thomas Sheridan, father of Richard Brinsley
Sh^dan ; Bourne, the " Vinny Bourne " of Cowper, so famous
for his beautifiil Latinity; Colman the Elder and Colman
the Younger \ Richard Cumberland ; Bonnel Thornton j

^ Much of Prioi^s veise is obsolete^ its subjects being temporary or local,
but his Nut-brown-Maid^ his tales, his epigrams, his Alma, and his Solomon,
are still favourites. He was the friend and boon companion of Swift,
Oxford, Bolingbroke, and Pope, with all of whom he lived upon the
easiest terms of festive intimacy.

** * Let that be done which Mat doth say 1 '
* Yea,' quoth the Earl, ' but not to-day,' "

attests the frankness of his intercourse with Harley. He touched both
extremes of fortune ; for, after attaining high distinction as a diplomatist,
he was long kept a political prisoner, and when released, he might have
starved save for his Fellowship at Cambridge, and a liberal subscription for
a collected edition of his works. Few longer or more ostentatious inscrip-
tions disfigure the old walls of Westminster Abbey than that on Prior.
It was from his own pen, and cost him ;£'500 ; he had years before com-
posed a far better one —

" Nobles and heralds, by your leave
Here lies — what once was Matthew Prior ; '^^ j
^ The son of Adam and of Eve : 4

^ Can Bourbon or Na«au claim highert" /'

> His brother Robert was Head Master of the School, 1 711, and famous
for his classical learning. He piqued himself upon his skill in penning
eulogistic epitaphs, and called forth the epigram by Pope, —

" Friend, for your epitaphs I'm grieved.

In which so much is said ;
/^ One half will never be believed,
\ The other never read."

When William Friend was sent to the Tower with Bishop Atterbury,
Robert stood gallantly by him, and gave out as a theme to his young
Westminsters, **Frater, ne desere Fratrem.'*

t.

/

i$6 The Great Schools of England.

Churchill, the satirist ; Gibbon,^ the great historian ; Cow-
p^,^ the poet 'y HoRNE TooKEPthe author of the Diversions of
Purley; and the all-accomplished Robert Southey,

^ The author of the immortal History of the Decline and Fail of the Roman
Empire^ entered at Westminster School under Dr. John Nicoll in 1749,
whence at sixteen years of age he was sent to Magdalen Coll^;e, Oxford.
During the latter part of his stay at Westminster, the delicacy of his consti-
tution prevented his regular attendance in school, but he read discursively
and voraciously at home. His complaints of Oxford discipline and studies
in his own day were very bitter, perhaps not then unfounded ; but of his
School in after life he spoke with much affection, and his remarks on Public
Schools are extremely valuable : — '* I shall always be ready to join in the
common opinion, that our Public Schools, which have produced so many
eminent characters, are the best adapted to the genius and constitution of
the English people. A boy of spirit may acquire a previous and practical
experience of the world ; and his playfellows may be the future friends of
his heart and of his interest In a free intercourse with his equals the
habits of truth, fortitude, and prudence will insensibly be matured. Birth and
riches are measured by the standard of personal merit, and the mimic scene
of a rebellion has displayed in their true colours the ministers and patriots
of the rising generation."

s Cowper spent nearly ten years at Westminster, and to the sufferings
he endured there from the fagging system, and other abuses, he gave voice
long after in his Tirocinium, There can be no doubt that his timid and
sensitive nature was quite unfit to grapple with the rough vigour of a Public
School career, or, in fact, as soon appeared, with the ordinary exigencies of
active life. An abortive attempt to study law ended in his consuming three
years in an attorney's office, where his companion was the future Lord
Chancellor Thurlow. His family connexions secured him an appointment
as Clerk of the Journals to the House of Lords, but he became so painfully
apprehensive of his inability to discharge the duties of the post, that his
mind gave way, and some years of his existence were a blank. Under the
care of the amiable Unwin family he rallied, and, after fifty produced in
quick succession most of his best works. Neither occupation nor the
incessant kindness and attention of friends could, however, do more than
alleviate the poet's settled despondency. He sank gradually, and in 1800
ceased to suffer.

Westminster. 157

EDUCATIONAL STAFF OF WESTMINSTER SCHOOL IN 1865.

Head Master.— Yisrt. C. B. Scott, B.D.

Under Master, — Rev. H. M. Ingnun, M.A.

Assistant Masters,

Rev. J. Marshall, M.A. 1 Rev. J. Andrews, M.A.

Rev. B. F. James, M.A. | J. Lee- Warner, Esq. M.A.

Mathematics,
Rev. C. A. Jones, M.A. | C. H. Cheyne, Esq. M.A.

French, — M. Dupont. | Drawing. — W. W. Fenn, Esq.

Gymncutics. — Mr. W. G. Creagh. | Fencing, — Mr. Angelo.

158 Tlhe Great Schools of England,

CHAPTER IV.

SPECIAL RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE ROYAL

COMMISSION.

All their General Recommendations, the Royal Commissioners
conceive to be applicable to Westminster School Of those
drawn up by their direction for its future government, the fol-
lowing are the most important : —

That an Administrative Body should be constituted, to be
called the Governors of St Peter's College, Westminster, to be
charged with the administration of the School Fund, and with
such general powers as we have considered advisable for other
Governing Bodies (General Recommendation III.), and to be
composed as follows, viz. —

The Dean and Chapter of Westminster.
Ex-Officio. \ The Dean of Christ Church, Oxford.

The Master of Trinity College, Cambridge.

Six persons, five of whom at least shotdd be laymen, and ot
whom four should be nominated by the Crown, and
two elected by the Governing Body. The four Crown
nominees should be graduates of Oxford or Cambridge,
and should, as well as the elected Governors, be mem-
bers of the Established Church, three at least of such
nominees to be selected with especial reference to their
attainments in literature or science.

That when the whole number of Governors is complete,
seven should be a quorum, and whenever it is not complete,
then a proportion of not less than one half should constitute a
quorum; tiie Dean of Westminster, and in his absence the
person selected by the meeting, to be Chairman, and to have
a second or casting vdte.

Nominated or
Elected.

Westminster, 159

That such a portion of the Chapter Estates as may be ade-
quate to the support of the School on the scale recommended
by this Report should be legally vested in the Governors, to be
by them applied to the due maintenance and education of the
Queen's Scholars, and to defraying the expenses connected
therewith, to repairs or new buildings necessary for or advan-
tageous to the College and School, and, generally, to the pro-
motion of all improvements which may benefit them.

That, further, such portions of the Chapter estates as are
necessarily and exclusively connected with the College and
School, and essential to their well-being, should be vested in
the Governors, such portions to comprise the dormitory with
its appurtenances, the hall, the school and class rooms, the
covered play-room, the houses of the Head and Under Master,
the three boarding-houses, and the play-grounds in Great Dean's
Yard and Vincent Square, and such additional buildings as may
be erected or adapted for the purposes of the College or School ;
provided, however, that they should revert to the Dean and
Chapter or to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners (as the case
may be), in the event of the removal of the College and School
from its present position.

That provision should be made for pa3anent to the Governors
by the Dean and Chapter, or, in the event of the adoption of
any arrangement under which these estates pass into the hands
of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, then by the last-named
body, of 31/. 10^. for the tuition of each scholar, as above
recommended.

That as an additional building appears necessary, to include
amongst other things, a large room for the teaching of natural
science, music, and drawing, with a sitting room for the junior
elections, the Chapter or the Ecclesiastical Commissioners (as
the case may be), be applied to with a view to obtaining a
grant for that purpose. Such a building might also be readily
adapted for the performance of the play, and the expense
thrown upon the Chapter Funds at present for that purpose be
thus obviated.

That the Governing Body should be empowered to throw the

i6o T7u Great Schools ofEnglamd,

Queen's Scholarships open to general competition, without anr
restriction as to place of birth or the requirement of any pre-
vious education in Westminster School

That the Town boys should be admitted to the competition
for the Christ Church Studentships, the Exhibitions at Trinity
College, Cambridge, and ail Exhibitions at the Universities.

That so soon as the School Funds may admit of it, or funds
given by private benefaction shall be forthcoming, a prize
should be instituted for an English Essay in the highest form
in the School

That at least once a year some of the more important school
examinations, other than those with regard to which this is
already the case, should be wholly or in part conducted by
Examiners unconnected with the School, and that they should
be paid a reasonable remuneration out of the School or College
Funds.

That encouragement should be given by separate prizes, to
a system of private studies, independent of the School-work,
whether with or without the aid of a private Tutor.

That in applying to Westminster the principles of General
Recommendations XXVI. — XXVIII. the yearly payment to be
made for instruction by the parents of each Town boy should
be fixed at 31/. ioj., and that the same amount should be paid
the Chapter on account of each Queen's Scholar. That if
private tuition be required in any branch of study forming part
of the regular course, a sum not exceeding 10/. per annum
should be paid by the parents of the boy requiring it, to the
private tutor. That the chaige for boarding should be 70/. for
Town boys. That 20/. per annum, and no more, should be
charged to the parents of each Queen's Scholar, such payment
to cover the expense of matron and servants in sanatorium,
medical attendance, servants in College, and washing.

That, as there is reason to believe that, in order to meet the
requirements of boys belonging to the Senior Election, juniors
are frequently obliged, and more particularly in winter, to get
up at an unduly early hour, and are obliged to perform offices
of a menial character, such as lighting the fire and gas in the

Wfstmifister, i6i

morning — and further, that the time which they might usefully
devote to their own preparation for school-work is often
seriously interfered with by the summons of their seniors — an
additional servant or servants in College should be provided,
whose duty it should be to perform such offices as lighting and
attending to the fires and gas, and who should also call those
boys who wish it at such hour as shall be permitted by the
regulations of the Head Master. That such additional servant
should be also porter of the College, and be stationed between
certain hours at or near the door, thus rendering it unnecessary
for a second-election boy, as at present, to remain out of
school for the purpose of acting as " Monitor osiii.''

That for an hour and a half or two hours in the evening-
say, from 8 to lo — no jagging should be permitted, but that
the juniors should prepare their lessons during that interval in
some fitting time in some fitting room in the presence of a
Master.

That in order to prevent the tyrannical exercise of power on
the part of seniors over juniors, the attention of the Masters
should be directed to the importance of entirely reforming the
present system of punishments in use among the boys, and
especially of putting down the use of rackets, caps, and other
such instruments of punishment, and the practice of kicking,
unless already effectually suppressed by Mr. Scott's recent rule ;
and that they should be also recommended to take steps for
confining the right of inflicting any punishment at all to the
seniors, and for providing that any offences requiring more
than a very slight punishment should be dealt with by the
seniors as a body, and not by individual boys.

That in order to ensure a thorough compliance with the
Head Master's regulations respecting the treatment of juniors
by seniors, as well as to encourage and maintain in the School
generally a correct tone of feeling and opinion, there should be
frequent and cordial intercourse between the seniors and the
Master specially appointed to take charge of the School ; and
that it should, therefore, be an object of immediate and
primary consideration on the part of the Governors whether

M

1 62 The Great Schools of England,

the present arrangement as regards the communication with
the Under Master's house is adequate and satisfactory.

That means should be provided for giving additional wamith
and more light at night to the two election rooms, and more
warmth to the dormitory ; and that, generally, an air of greater
comfort should be given to the two election rooms by painting
or whitewashing as may be required, providing the necessary-
number of chairs, and otherwise.

That whenever the house which now stands between the
Head Master^s and Dr. Cureton*s is pulled down, there should
be erected in its place only a wall of sufficient height to form a
fence between Great and Little Dean's Yard, unless it be
deemed desirable to carry it a few feet higher for the purpose
of forming a fives couit on the eastern or inner side.

That upon the demolition of this house, the room in the
tower adjoining the Head Master's house should be formed
into a School Library, to be used by the boys under such
regulations as may be deemed proper by the Head Master and
the Governors.

That the wall and loW buildings between the dormitory and
School buildings should be taken down, and an iron fence
(with a gate) of sufficient height, placed between the College
Garden and Little Dean's Yard.

That on Sundays from one o'clock until four in winter, and
until nine in summer, the boys — Town boys as well as Queen's
Scholars — should be allowed to use the College Garden under
proper regulations.

That the Under Master, or in his absence, an Assistant
Master, should be always present in College Hall during the
dinner of the Queen's Scholars.

That the daily allowance of meat for the Queen's Scholars
at supper should be sufficient and constant, and should not
depend on the quantity consumed at dinner; and that the
existing practice under which an insufficient provision is made
for the tea of the junior boys should be altered.

That, having regard to the spirit of the Statutes, the choristers
at the proper age should be either apprenticed to some trade

Westminster. 163

or receive some fair equivalent at the expense of the College
Funds.

That the attendance at the Holy Communion in the Abbey
on the part of the Queen's Scholars should be in future strictly
voluntary.

That some arrangement should be made by which the special
services attended by the boys in the Abbey may be of a choral
character, it appearing to the Commissioners probable that the
attendance of the choristers only would be sufficient, and that
some of the boys themselves would be glad, if duly trained, to
take part in the service.

That in case of Westminster School continuing to occupy
its present site, the hours should be so fixed as, without
prejudice to the interests of the scholars and boarders, to
facilitate the attendance of boys residing in London and the
immediate suburbs.

v^

M 2

1 64 The Great Schools of England.

/ ST.

PAUL'S SCHOOL.

CHAPTER I.

DOCE, DISCE, AUT DISCEDE.

This ancient and highly flourishing Foundation, though in some

respects taking rank below a few of its competitors, has strong

claims to pre-eminence over most of them. Not only was it

one of the first really Free Schools established in England, but

its creation was solely due to the desire of a great scholar and

an enlightened Christian for the diffusion of pure doctrines in

religion and learning. Looking, then, either to the date or the

cause of its origin, we are justified in assigning to it a foremost

place on the list of institutions dedicated to the noble purposes

of education, and especially of institutions which we may proudly

boast of as being almost peculiar to this country — institutions

which admirably and fruitfully harmonize with the wartpest,

grandest, most manifold life. Other public schools may boast

of Royal or ecclesiastical settlement, of aristocratic patronage,

or of wealthy endowments ; but St. Paul's must always retain

the proud distinction of having been founded at the very revival

of learning, out of a pure spirit of love for the truths which

Academies are the appropriate means of disseminating. In

order to exhibit this peculiarity with clearness, it is necessary

to glance, however briefly, at the history and character of its

illustrious Founder, John Colet.

The life of this distinguished man was written in the early
part of the last century by a pupil of St. Paul's School, Dr.
Samuel Knight, Prebendary of Ely, and the work, a companion

St, PauPs, 165

to the same author's Life of Erasmus^ has been deemed of suf-
ficient importance and interest to be reprinted. It manifests
erudition, and is written in a genial and an intelligent spirit ;
but it scarcely corresponds to the requirements of the present
day. Besides this, however, it does not seize the true nature
of the Renaissance, such as comprehensive modem research
has revealed it. In the regeneration of learning which accom-
panied the transformation of art, those called Humanists played
a part as noteworthy as the most active Reformers. They were
not desirous of any grand disruption ; but they strove in every
direction to liberalise. The most gifted and conspicuous repre-
sentative of the class was Erasmus ; but names which have less
prominence in the world's history, as Budaus and Reuchlin,
should not be forgotten. It was perhaps rather to the order
of Humanists than to that of strenuous Reformers that Dr. Colet
belonged. But this very circumstance made him all the fitter
to be Founder of a noble English School.

Dr. John Colgt^ Dean of St. Paul's in the time of Henry VII.
and Henry VIII. was the son and sole heir of Sir Henry Colef,"
a wealthy citizen of unblemished reputation, who had been
twice Lord Mayor of London. The family appears to have
been of some standing in Buckinghamshire, though their
genealogy is not traceable to any very remote antiquity. It
was probably of French origin, as there have been Colets and
Collets in that country — some of them theologians. A Claude
Colet was known as an author during the first half of the six-
teenth century ; and, which is curious, a John Colet, canon of
Troyes, was the contemporary of Dr. John Colet, the founder
of St Paul's School. Bom at Rumilly, in Champagne, and
having been appointed parish priest in his native town, this
Johan Colet succeeded by his own indefatigable zeal in getting
the parish church entirely rebuilt. This church, in the style of
the Renaissance, still remains, and is said to be exceedingly
interesting as a work of art. The Founder of St. Paul's School
had probably never heard of his namesake and contemporary,
kindred though the latter was to him in benevolent aspiration.

Dr. John Colet was the eldest of twenty-two children, eleven

i66

77ie Great Schools of England,

sons and eleven daughters, and he alone remained to inherit
the family estates.^ He was bom in London in the year 1466.
In England during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, it
was, we are informed, reputed a sort of nobility to be bom
and bred in London ; and much more was expected from those
who had the good fortune to be so than from others. As a
native of St Anthony's parish, Dean Colet probably obtained
his first education at St. Anthony's School, where, likewise. Sir
Thomas More, Archbishop Heath, and Archbishop Whitgift
received the earliest tillage of their minds. ^

-^ The mother of this large family outlived them all. I After the death of
her husSand, Sir Henry Colet, she retired from public life, the chief
pleasure of her existence being to entertain her son and his learned friends.
Among the latter her prime favourite was Erasmus, whose conversation she
particiUarly delighted in. She bore the loss of her husband and of her many
children with such contentedness and self-submission that Erasmus, when
comforting his friend Amerbach upon the death of his daughter, cited this
amiable lady as an example of Christian patience and fortitude under many
similar deprivations. "I knew in England," he writes, "the mother of
John Colet, a matron of singular piety ; she had by the same husband
eleven sons and as many daughters ; all which hopeful brood was snatched
away from her, except her eldest son ; and she lost her husband, far
advanced in years ; she herself being come up to her 90th year, looked
so smooth, and was so cheerful, that you would think she had never shed a
tear nor brought a child into the world ; and (if I mistake not) she survived
her son. Dean Colet. Now that which supplied a woman with so much
fortitude was not learning, but piety towards God. Will you then, who
are a man, and of so great learning and prudence, and even of courage in
other matters, grieve, and talk of dying with a little infant ? "

* This seminary, which was of ancient standing, enjoyed then and long
afterwards high civic reputation. It stood in Threadneedle Street, and
Stow tells us that St. Anthony's ** commonly presented the best Scholars
and had the prize in those days." He says, also, that ** the Scholars of
Paul's meeting with them of St. Anthony's, would call them St. Anthony's
pigs, and they again would call the others pigeons of Paul's— because many
pigeons were bred in St. Paul's Church, and St. Anthony was always
figured with a pig following him. These mindful of the former usage (the
public disputations of the boys belonging to the London Schools), did for
a long season disorderly in the open street provoke one another with, scUve
tu quoque, placet tibi mecum disputare^ placet ; and so proceeding from this
to questions in grammar, they usually fell from words to blows, with their

5/. PauTs. . 167

The period at which John Colet entered St Anthony's School
was that when scholarship was just beginning to emancipate
itself from the trammels of monkery and dogmatism, and when
religion was on the eve of asserting its mastery over the corrupt
usages which had been set up in its name. According to New-
combe, in his Repertoriuttiy he removed to Oxford in 1483,
entering at Magdalen, about twelve months before his college
companion Wolsey took his degree with the honourable desig-
nation of " the boy bachelor." Despite of his training at that
University for an ecclesiastical career under Popish dispensa-
tion, Colet was from his youth one of the most zealous, able,
and influential promoters of renewed life in religion and in
letters. His range of studies was very extensive. He was a
proficient in mathematics, logic, and philosophy ; took St. Paul
as his theological guide, and read not merely the Roman
classics but the Greek, as also the most distinguished of the
Fathers and the Scholastics. Having taken his degree in Arts,
Colet was not long perplexed in his choice of a profession.
His talents and acquirements were set off by pleasing manners
and a tall and comely person. These advantages, aided by
the position, the connexions, the wealth of his family, would
easily have obtained for him advancement at Court. From
the temptations of the world, however, he turned away to
devote himself to the divine labours of the ecclesiastic. Still,
as he had nothing of the ascetic temper, he did not refuse pre-
ferment, but the more freely promotion was bestowed upon
him, the more he regarded it as an instrument for achieving
noble purposes.

Having acquired, in the language of Wood, " a most admi-
rable competence in learning at home," he determined in 1493
to enlarge his knowledge by travelling abroad. For this pur-
pose he visited France and Italy, where he availed himself of
the opportunity to make acquisitions in the Greek language, a
study which at that time was accounted almost heretical,

satchels full of books, many times in great heaps, that they troubled the
streets and passengers ; so that finally they were restrained with the decay
of St Anthony's School." — Stew's London^ ed. 1603, p. 75.

i68 Tke Great Schools of England.

because of its leading to an immediate acquaintance with the
Scriptures, and, consequently, to the exposure of errors, which
were maintained through the instrumentality of spurious copies
and inaccurate translations.^

At Paris he was introduced to Robert Guaquin, who had
been French Ambassador in Germany, at Florence, and in
England, but whose fame rests less on his political services
than on his literary productions. Colet was led also into
cordial relations with Erasmus, whose friendship subsequently
contributed largely to his information and happiness. At the
same time he contracted an intimacy with many other great
scholars, few of whom, however, had the courage to follow him
to the conclusions which naturally grew out of his scriptural
researches.

In Italy, Colet formed friendships with not a few of the
learned, as well foreigners as natives of his own country. Two
of the latter were Thomas Linacre (or, in Latin, Linacer), and
William Grocyne. By fame Linacre is supposed to be the most
accomplished man of his time. Besides being foremost in every
branch of study on which he entered, Linacre was a reformer
of Medicine, and had a principal part in forming the College
of Physicians. His style was so elegant and exact that his
friend Erasmus thought it almost too much so ; but Huet, a
judge as competent as Erasmus, has vindicated it from the
reproach of pedantic refinement. Grocyne, after his return
from the Continent, laboured hard at Oxford to promote the
study of Greek. This was viewed as a dangerous innovation,
and two hostile Actions, called Greeks and Trojans, arose.
When the quarrel between these parties was at the hottest,
Erasmus visited Oxford, and Grocyne, welcoming him as an
auxiliary, received him into his house. The grateful Erasmus
was warm in expressions of esteem, and gave Grocyne the
names of patronus and praceptor. The edition of the Ep.
Sphacra of Proclus, by Linacre, contains a letter to Aldus

* Greek and Hebrew studies were sternly interdicted by the adherents of
the established system. The adage ran, " Cave h Gnecis nefias Hcreticus ;
fuge liUras Hebraas nefias Judaorum simt'/is,**

5/. PauVs. 169

Manutius by Grocyne. This is Groc)me's only extant pro-
duction, regarding whom Erasmus declares that his taste was
so delicate that he liked better to write nothing than to write
badly.

In the year 1494, while on the Continent, Colet was installed
by proxy a Prebendary of York. He was also advanced to the
Canonry of St. Martin's-le-Grand, London : and on his return
to England in 1 497, he was ordained Deacon. In the following
year he entered into priest's orders; and in 1501, he was
admitted to proceed in divinity. The next year he became
Prebendary of Wameford in the church of Sarum ; in 1504 he
commenced D»D,y and in 1505 he was appointed to the Prebend
of Mora in St. Paul's, London.

When, at the same period, in recognition of his learning and
worth, he was installed into the high office of Dean in that
church, his great aim was to reform the lax discipline of his
cathedral, and to render others as good and pure as he was
himself. Though no agitator, and therefore no centre of
popular movement, he did not altogether escape the risks
attending heroism. Having with his customary boldness and
freedom denounced the corruptions then prevalent in every
department of the Church — and against which the mighty
voice of Luther was soon to thunder — z. denunciation which
sprang from his sincere conviction of their enormity and
their injury to the cause of true religion — ^he was cited by
Dr. Fitzjames, Bishop of London, to answer an accusation
of heresy, an accusation often and easily brought against
those who do not aim at theoretical changes, but at moral
reformation. As we are told by the Italian poet, Andrea
Ammonio, who was for some time Secretary to Henry VIII.,
that the practice of burning schismatics was then so common
as to raise the price of wood, the serious nature of such a charge
may be appreciated.^ Colet's alleged offences were — first, oppo-
sition to image worship; secondly, his contending that the
exhortation to Peter, Feed my sheep, had no carnal signification ;

^ Lignorutn pretium auctum esse non miror ; multi quotidie hzretici
holocaustum nobis prabent, plures tamen succrescunt.

lyo The Great Schools of England,

and thirdly, his preaching against the frigid and idle disqui-
sitions which priests were then in the habit of delivering under
the name of sermons. But his real sin^ in the estimation of his
persecutor, was the opening of the people's eyes by reading
publicly the epistles of St. Paul, instead of the jargon usually
adopted from the pages of the schoolmen. Colet defeated
the Bishop's malevolence, though Latimer in one of his sermons
says the Dean would have been burnt, " if God had not turned
the King's heart to the contrary." From being the martyr he
was happily preserved to be the patron of learning, and his
troubles and persecutions are said to have had no other influ-
ence upon his disposition than that of rendering him more
devout and charitable.

For many years it had been his practice to expend the
greater part of his revenues in acts of piety and benevolence.
Being now in possession of an ample fortune, and, since the
deaths of his brothers and sisters, without any near relations,
he at length resolved to consecrate a good portion of his estate
to some great and enduring benefaction. After much delibera-
tion as to what design would promise most benefit to the
Church and the nation, he determined to provide a Grammar
School in London, as near as possible to the Metropolitan
Church.

Accordingly, about the year 1509, the first of Henr/s reign,
Dean Colet commenced the erection of suitable buildings, and
employed himself in framing the Statutes, providing proper
Masters, and settling endowments of " The School of St. Paul."
The structure was completed in three years, and is said by
Wood to have cost 4,500/, This is, no doubt, an exaggerated
estimate, for, at a time when a quarter of malt cost three
shillings and four pence, an ox six shillings, a sheep one
shilling, and a capon twopence, such a sum could scarcely
have been absorbed by any edifice which a man in his senses
would erect for the purposes of a school. Be this as it may,
by the conveyance of certain of his estates in Bucks to the
Mercers' Company, in trust, he endowed the Foundation with
a yearly income of something more than one hundred and

\

\

St FauPs, 171

twenty pounds;^ a revenue which is understood to have)
increased to about 12,000/. with the prospect, it is general]}!
reported, of a further and enormous augmentation.

In his Statutes of the School, Dean Colet declares that it
shall be open to the ''children of all nations and countries
indifferently." What a beautiful and noble catholicity this pro-
vision displays ! We are supposed in these days to have more
'. enlightened notions of toleration than in the days of Dean
Colet, but in some respects there reigned a more exalted and
embracing charity at the beginning of the i6th century, than in
the middle of the 19th. The number of children attending the
school was to be one hundred and fifty-three.^ No children
were to be admitted but such as could say their Catechism, as
well as read and write *• competently."
/^ Each child was required to pay fourpence on his first admis-
( sion to the School, which sum was to be given to the " poor
/ scholar *' who swept the school and kept the seats clean. The
\ hours of study were to be from seven until eleven in the morn-
j ing and from one till five in the afternoon, with prayers in the
[ morning, at noon, and in the evening. It was expressly
/ stipulated that the pupils should never use tallow candles, but
\ only wax, and those " at the cost of their friends." The most
> remarkable Statute of the School, and one the apparent super-
V^ stition of which is quite irreconcilable with the sagacious and

^ There is extant a will executed somewhat later, in which, describing
himself as ''Citizen and Mercer of London,'' he bequeaths to the same
body numerous lands and tenements in the Metropolis, together with the
School and Chapel.

* The founder has given no reason for fixing the number of pupils at this

particular amount, but he is believed to have been influenced by some

fanciful regard for the number of fishes taken by St. Peter in the miraculous

draught Fuller, in his Church History^ when recording the death of

Colet, says he " founded the free school of St. Paul's; and it is hard to say

whether he left better laws for the government or lands for maintenance

thereof. A free school, indeed, to all natives or foreigners of what country

[ soever here to have their education (none being excluded by their nativity,

I which exclude not themselves by their unworthiness) to the number of one

\ himdred fifty and three (so many fishes as were caught in the net by the

\ Apostles. John xxu 11)," &c.

J

172 The Great Schools of England.

enlightened mind of Dean Colet, is that by which the scholars
were bound on "Childermas Day" to attend at St. Paul's
Church, " and hear the child-bishop sermon, and after be at
the high mass, and each of them offer one penny to the child-
bishop."^ Dr. Knight, in his Life of Dr, John Colet, remarks
that there might, at least, be said in favour of this ancient
custom that it gave a spirit to the children, and excited them to
seek by diligent study to qualify themselves for the real mitre ;
and that was, perhaps, the ground on which it was deemed
worthy to occupy so conspicuous a place in the Statutes of St
Paul's School. But in all religious rites and customs there is a
deep symbolism ; and neglect of the custom or the rite often
leads to the forgetfulness of the symbol. Colet yearned
instinctively, perhaps unconsciously, after what Coleridge calls
" the fair humanities of old religion," and " the old instinct
brought back the old names." He might even view the
observance as more a recreation than a bondage; and the
children would almost certainly have the same feelings.

With respect to the course of study proposed by the Founder
for his new School, he himself tells us that he would have them
" taught always in good literature, both Latin and Greek, and
good authors, such as have the very Roman eloquence joined

I Of this remarkable festival Strype gives the following account : —
** Because the way of celebrating St. Nicholas* Day is so odd and strange,
let me add here a word or two explanatory of it The memory of this saint
and Bishop Nicholas, was thus solemnised by a child the better to remember
the holy man even when he was a child, and his childlike virtues when he
became a man. The Popish festival tells us that while he lay in his cradle
he fasted Wednesdays and Fridays, sucking but once a day on those days ;
and his meekness and simplicity, the proper virtues of children, he main-
tained from his childhood as long as he lived ; and therefore, says the
festival, children do him worship before all other saints. The boy*bishop
was commonly one of the choristers, and chosen by the rest From St.
Nicholas' Day to Innocents* Day at night, this boy bore the name of a
bishop, and the state and habit too, wearing the mitre and the pastoral
staff, and the rest of the Pontifical attire ; nay, and reading the holy ofHces. "
For more particulars of this exhibition, see Brand's Popular AtUiqttities of
Great Britain^ and Gregorys fVoris, 1684, ^\o{Episcopus Puavrum in Die
/nnocenfium), p. 113.

ST. PauVs, 1 73

with wisdom, especially Christian authors, that wrote their
wisdom with clean and chaste Latin." Above all things he
would have the children "learn the Catechism in English,"
and after that the Accidence which he himself composed, " or
some other, if any be better to the purpose to induce children
more speedily to Latin speech." These were all the formal
stipulations ; but Dean Colet was too wise and too far-seeing
to assume that they or any regulations he might propound
would suffice for all time to come. He prefaces them, there-
fore, with the following observation : — " As touching in this
school what shall be taught of the masters and learned of the
scholars, it passeth my wit to devise and determine in particular,
but in general, to speak and somewhat to say my mind,'' — and
so on.

All institutions should combine stability with elasticity of,
development. If they have not stability, they are the mere
creations of caprice, and must speedily fall into ruin. If they
have not elasticity, they become simple obstructions. It is not
stability which most English institutions want, but elasticity.
They seem so much built for all time that they cannot readily
adapt themselves to any particular time. In England, the
nation advances, while the institutions stand still. The result is,
that when the institutions are compelled to move, the wrench
is so violent as to destroy them.

Dean Colet had a salutary dread of this danger, and the
responsibility of modifying and extending his scheme as cir-
cumstances might require or experience might dictate he left,
with a rare abstinence, to the body of Governors entrusted
with the duty of canying it into effect. They consisted of the
Master, Wardens, and Assistants of the Company of Mercers,
a fellowship of which his father had been a distinguished
member. To them was confided the honourable office of
superintending the funds, directing tWe expenditure, appoint-
ing the masters, and the general regulation of the establish-
ment " It may seem false Latin," as Fuller observes, that
Colet, being Dean of St. Paul's, his school dedicated to St.
Paul, and distant but the breadth of the street from St Paul'sl

174 '^^^ Great Schools of England,

Church, he should not have entrusted his Foundation to the
guardianship of the Chapter of St Paul's. But in this act, as
in every step taken by him to establish and perpetuate his
noble benefaction, this good and great man appears to have
been guided by uncommon prudence, foresight, and knowledge
of mankind.

" After he had finished all," Erasmus says, " he left the per-
petual care and oversight of the estate, and government of it,
not to the clergy, not to the Bishop, not to the Chapter, nor to
any great Minister at Court, but amongst the married laymen,
to the Company of Mercers, men of probity and reputation.
And when he was asked the reason of so committing the trust,
he answered to this effect : — That there was no absolute certainty
in human affairs; but, for his part ^ he found less corruption in
such a body of citizens than in any other order or degree of man-
kindr The fellowship thus highly spoken of ha? more to
answer for than any ordinary board of school governors, since
the Founder has endowed them with liberty to declare the
sense of his Statutes in general, as well as, from time to time,
to alter and correct, add and diminish, as should afterwards be
thought favourable to a better government of the School.

As soon as the School was founded. Dr. Colet himself drew
up a class-book for the use of the Scholars. It consisted of some
Rudiments of Grammar, with an abridgment of the principles
of religion. This little manual, known as Paul's Accidence^
was afterwards supplemented by another tract by Colet, on the
construction of the eight parts of speech ; and, further additions
being made by Erasmus and Lily, the general work must be
looked upon as the origin of all the Latin grammars that have
since been used in the schools of this country. So highly were
Colet's Rudiments esteemed at the time, that Cardinal Wolsev
prescribed them for adoption in the school which he founded
in his native town, Ipswich. It may be worthy of notice, too,
that Camden, who was a Paul's Scholar, composed the Greek
Grammar formerly in general use throughout England. To
Colet's Foundation, then, we owe the two most important
works on which the elementary business of education depends.

St PauTs. 175

The original Statutes of Sl Paul's School enjoined that the
High Master should be chosen by the Warden and Assistants
of " The Mercery ;" that he should be honest, virtuous, and
learned in good Latin and Greek, and, "if such could be
gotten," a wedded man. Otherwise, he might be a single man,
or priest without benefice. The Sub-Master was also to be
virtuous and lettered, but in his case the quality of being married
was less pointedly conditioned. The office of High Master was,
in the event of vacancy, to be succeeded to by the Sub- Master,
provided he was " in literature and in honest life according.'*

The first High Master of St. Paul's School was William Lily,
one of the most famous scholars of his own or of any age. He
was a year younger than Erasmus, as Erasmus was a year
younger than Colet. After taking his degree at Oxford, Lily
is related to have gone on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He
subsequently took up his abode on the Island of Rhodes, which

t^- had become a Patmos for the learned after the capture of Con-
stantinople. It was here that during a sojourn of five years,
Lily acquired a familiarity with the antiquities, the social
organization, and the literature of Greece. From Rhodes he
went to Rome, where he seems first to have met with Colet,
and where the lessons of Sulpitius and of Pomponius Sabinus
facilitated to him the study of languages. In 1509 he returned
to his native land — not having yet produced anything, but
with the reputation of a philologist of the highest merit. He is
said to have been the first English scholar who publicly taught

V Greek in this country, and~^before Colet made choice of him
for his Foundation, had kept a private school of his own in
London. His chief recommendation for the distinguished office
was the testimony of Erasmus to his profound acquaintance
with the Greek and Latin languages. He was highly valued
by the learned of his time. He published several miscellaneous
pieces ; but the Latin Grammar which passes by his name is
his only production of great repute, and to the authorship
of that, as already explained, he could only make a partial
claim. ^
^ *' Formerly there were in England almost as many grammars as school-

>

176 The Great Schools of England.

It was fitting that, with the admirable capacity of tuition for
which Erasmus has so highly commended Lily, the latter
should have had the glory of initiating into the study of anti-
quity the most illustrious men of his epoch. This eminent
teacher and grammarian died of the plague in the year 1522,
leaving two sons, George and Peter, both of whom rose to
considerable distinction as scholars and as ecclesiastics.

According to the evidence of Erasmus, who must necessarily
have been a good authority, the discipline which Colet and
Lily introduced at St. Paul's was fully up to the customary
standard of public school severity.^ This may probably be

masters, children being confounded, not only with the variety but (some-
times) contrariety thereof — rules being true in the one which were false in
the other. Yea, which was the worst, a boy when removed to a new school
lost all he had learned before: whereupon King Henry endeavoured a
uniformity of grammar all over his dominions; that so youths, though
changing their schoolmasters, might keep their learning. This was per-
formed, and William Lily's Grammar enjoined universaUy to be used." —
Fuller.

1 In his denunciation of the cruelties perpetrated by the schoolmasters
of his time, from which he had himself suffered dreadfully among the
ignorant and brutal monk -preceptors of Bois-le-Duc, Erasmus relates an
anecdote believed to refer to Dr. Colet and the two masters of his school,
which cannot be read with patience: — "Novi theologum quendam, et
quidem domestice, maximi nominis, cujus animo nulla crudelitas satisfaciebat
in discipulos, quum magistros haberet strenue plagosos. Id existimabat
unice, et ad dejiciendam ingeniorum ferociam, et ad edomandum aetatis
lasciviam pertinere. Nunquam agitabat convivium apud gregem suunt, nisi
qtumadmodum cotnadia exeunt in latam catastrophen^ ita post cibum sumptum
unus aut alter protrahcretur virgis lacerandus ; et interim saviedat, et in
immeritos^ nimirum ut assttescerent plagis. Ipse quondam astiti proximus,
quum a prandio ex more puerum evocaret, annos naium {ut opinor) decem.
Recens auiem a matre vetierat in eum gregem. Prafatus est^ illi matrem esse
cum primis piam fxminamy ab ea sibi puerum studiose commendatum, Mox,
ut haberet occasionem caedendi, ccepit objicere nescio quid ferocix, quum
nihil minus prae se ferret puer, et innuit illi cui coUegii prscfecturam com-
miserat ut czederet. Ille protinus dejectum puerum ita cecidit, ut qui
sacrilegium commisisset. Theologus semel atque iterum interpellavit, satis
est^ satis est. At camifix ille fervore surdus peregit suam camiBcmam pene
usque ad pueri syncopem. Mox theologus versus ad nos, Nihil commeruit,
\n(\}i\i,sed erat kumiliandus; nam hoc verbo est usus. Quis unquam ad euro

Sf. PauTs, I J 'J

ascribed to the rude notions which then prevailed as to the
most efficacious manner of instilling the elements of learning
and morality, though it has also been attributed to a morose-
ness of disposition in Golet At any rate, whether applicable
to these distinguished men or not, the strong terms in which
Erasmus, More, and Ascham speak of teachers who were in
the habit of subjecting their pupils to cruel punishment would
form an admirable text for those excellent persons who uphold
the observance of a contrary discipline.

The death of Dr. John Colet is thus recorded by Wood : —
" When he discovered the sweating sickness to be upon him,
he returned to the lodging he had built in the monastery of the
Carthusians at Sheen, near Richmond, in Surrey; where, having
spent the little remainder of his days in devotion, he surrendered
up his last breath to Him who gave it, on the i ith of September,
1 5 19. His body was afterwards carried to London, and by the
care of his old decrepit mother, it was buried in the Cathedral
Church of St Paul, nigh to the image of St. Wigifort"

Tike Building, — ^The account which Erasmus has left us of
the original School is full of interest. After describing the
Foundation, and the School, which he calls '' a magnificent
structure, to which were attached two dwelling-houses for the
two several masters," he proceeds to say, "he divided the
School into four chambers. The first, viz. the porch and
entrance, in which the Chaplain teaches : where no child is to
be admitted who cannot read and write. The second apart-
ment is for those who are taught by the Under Master. The
third is for the boys of the Upper Forms, taught by the High
Master. These two parts of the School are divided by a curtain,
to be driwn at will. Over the Head Master's chair is an image
of the boy Jesus, a beautiful work, in the gesture of teaching ; ^
whom all the scholars, going and departing, salute with a hymn.

modum erudivit mancipium? imo quis ^inum?" — Erasmus, De ptieris
instiiuendis,
^ Under this figure was the following distich written by Erasmus : —

" DiscUe meprimutn, P^*^i atque effingitepuris
, MorUfus ; inde pita addiU litenUas,^^

N

1 78 Tike Great Schools of England,

There is a representation of God the Father, also, saying, Hear
ye Him^ which words were written at my suggestion. The last
apartment is a little chapel for divine service. In the whole
School there are no comers or hiding-places ; neither a dining
nor a sleeping place. Each boy has his own place, one above
another. Every class or form contains sixteen boys, and he
that is at the head of the class has a little seat by way of pre-
eminence."

The School thus described, shared in the Great Fire of 1666,
and was rebuilt by the Mercers' Company in 1670. This
second structure was superseded by the present edifice, designed
and erected by George Smith, Esq. the Architect of the Mer-
cers' Company. It has the advantage of two additional Masters'
houses and a large cloister for a play-ground underneath the
School.

On occasions of the Sovereigns of England or other royal or
distinguished persons going in state through the City, a balcony
is erected in front of this building, whence addresses from the
School are presented to the illustrious visitors by the head
boys. The origin of this right or custom of the Paulines is not
known, but it is of some antiquity. Addresses were so pre-
sented to Charles V. and Henry VIII. in 1552; to Queen
Elizabeth, 1558 ; and to Queen Victoria, when the Royal
Exchange was opened in 1844. Her Majesty, however, pre-
ferred to receive the address at the next lev^e, and this pre-
cedent was followed when the multitudes of London rushed to
welcome the Prince of Wales and the Princess Alexandra in
1863.

The ancient Schoolroom was on a level with the street, the
modern one is built over the cloister. It is a finely-proportioned
apartment, and has several new class-rooms adjoining, erected
upon a plan devised by Dr. Kynaston, the present High Master.
At the south end of this noble room, above the Master's chair,
is a bust of the Founder, by Roubiliac. Over the seat is inscribed
— ^^ Intendas animum studiis et rebus honesiis^^ and over the
entrance to the room the appropriate injunction found at Win-
chester and other public Schools — ^^Doce, Disce, aut Discede,*'

Sf. Paurs, 179

The Library, — St Paul's School has an excellent library
immediately adjoining the Schoolroom, to which the eighth
class have unlimited access out of School hours, the six seniors
occupying places in it in School time. Books in all or most
departments of science are continually supplied and allowed
to be taken out by the Scholars. The collection includes the
best standard French writers, and every facility is afforded for
the cultivation of literary and scientific reading, according to
the different tastes and capacities of the Scholars.

Dr. Colet's own statement of his intentions with regard to
the Foundation of St Paul's School, and the Rules which he
composed for its management, are too instructive to be omitted
in any history of this noble endowment

V

"THE STATUTES OF SAINT PAUL'S SCHOOL.

" Prvlogus.

«

John Collett, the sonne of Henrye Collett, Dean of
/ Paules, desiring nothyng more thanne education and bringing nppe of
Children in good maners and Kterature, in the yere of our Lorde One
I Thousand fyve hundredth and twelfe, bylded a Schole in the Estende of
Poules Churche Yode, of One Hundred and Fifty-three to be taught free
in the same. And ordeyned there a Maister, and a Surmaister, and a
Chappelyn, with sufhciente and perpetuall Stipendes erer to endure, and
sett Patrones and Defenders, Govemours and Rulers of that same Schoole,
the most honest and faithful Fellowshipe of The Mercers of London.
And, for because nothing can continue longe and endure in good ordre
without Lawes and Statutes, I, the said John, have expressed and shewed
my minde what I wolde should be truly and diligentlye obser\''ed and
kepte of the School maister, and Surmaister, and Chapelyn, and of The
Mercers, Govemours of the Schole, that in this boke may appere to what
intent I founde this Schole.

" Capitulum Primum de Magistro Primario.

" In the Grammar Scole^ founded in the Churche Yard of Poules at the
Estende, in the yeare of Our Lorde 1512, by John Colet, Deane of the same
Churche, in the Honour of Christe Jesu, in PturUia^ and of his Blessed
modir Marie. In that Scole shall be firste an Hyghe Maister. This Hyghe
Maister, in doctrine, leamynge, and teachinge, shall directe all the Scole.
This Maister shall be chosen by The Wardens and Assistance of The
Mercery : A man hoole in body, honest, and vertuous, and lemed in good
and cleane Laten literature, and also in Greke, yf such may be gotten ; a

N 2

i8o T7u Great Schools of England.

Wedded man, a Single man, or a Preste that hath no benefice with cure, nor
benefice that may lett his due businesse in the Scole.

"The Mercers shall assemble together in the Scole-house, with such
advice and counselle of well literatur and learned men as they can get ; they
shall chose this Maister, and give unto him his charge, sa3ring unto him on
this wyse : —

" ' Sir^ we have chosen you to be Maister and Teacher of this Scole, to
teache the children of the same not all only good literature, but allso good
maners, certifieing you that this is no rome of Continuance and Perpetuite,
but upon your dewtie in the Scole. And, every yere at Candlemasse^ when
The Mercers be assembled in the Scole-house, ye shall submit you to our
examination, and founde doinge your duetie accordinge, ye shall continue ;
otherwise reasonable warned, ye shall contente you to departe ; and you of
your part, not warned of us, but of your mynde, in any season willing to
departe, ye shall give us warning Twelve monthes before, without we can
be shortlyer well provided of another.

*' ' Also, being Maister, ye shall not absente you, but upon license of the
Surveyors for the tyme being.

" ' Also, yf any controversy and stryfe shall be betwixt you and the Sur-
maister, or the Chapelyne of the Scole, ye shall stande at the direction of
the Surveyors being for that yere.*

"And, yf the chosen Maister will promise this, thenne admytt him and
name him to it, and stall him in his seat in the Scole, and shew him his
Lodginge, that is to saye, all the Sellers bynethe the Halle, the Kytchen, and
Batterye, and over that the hool Stoxye of Chambers, and in the house
roofe and litell middel chamber, and the Galarye on the South side. As
touching all the storye of Chambers nexte underneth the Galary, he shall
nothing meddell withall : and they shall give hjrm the ymplements of his
house by Indenture.

" All these Lodgings he shall have free without any payment, and in this
Lodging he shall dwell and keep householde to his power.

" His wagis shall be a mark a weke, and a Lyuery gowne of four nobles
delivered in doth.

" His absence shall be but onys in the yere, and not above thirty dayes,
which he shall take conjunctim or divisim. Yf the Maister be syke of
sykeness incurable, or fall into such age that he may not conveniently
teache, and hath bene a man that longe and laudably hath taught in the
Scole, thanne let another be chosen, and by the discrete charitie of The
Mercery let there be assigned to the olde Maister a reasonable livinge of
Ten Pounds or otherwise as it shall seme convenyent, so that the olde
Maister after his longe labor in no wise be lefte destitute. Yf the Maister
be syke of sikeness curable, yet neverthelesse I will he shall have his wages,
and in suche sikeness yf he may not teache, let hym reward the Under
Maister for his more labor somewhat according. Yf the Under Maister be

Sf, PauTs, x8i

in literatnre and in honest lyfe accordynge, then the Hygh Maister's rome
vacante, let him be chosen before another.

" The Hyghe Maister shall have the tenement in Stebenhith, now in the
handes of Crystofer Myddelton, to resorte unto, whiche tenement The
Meroeis shall mayntein and repayre.

" T^ Surmaister.

'* There shall be also a Surmaister, some manne vertuose in livinge, and
well lettered, that shall teache under the Maister, as the Hygh Maister
shall appoynt hym, some single man or wedded, or a Preste that hath no
benefice with cure, nor service that may lett his due diligence in the Scole.

'*This Surmaister the Hygh Maister shall chose as often as the rome
shall be voyde, a man hoole in body, and when the High Maister hath
appointed him upon one, he shall call to the Scole the Surveyors of this
Scole, and before them he shall say to the Surmaister on this wise ; —

" '5«r, before these my Maisters here, the Surveyors of this Scole, I
shew unto you that I have chosen you to be Under Maister of this Scole,
and to teache alway from tyme to tyme, as I shall appoynt you, and supply
my rome in my absence when it shall be granted me by my Maisters, The
Mercers, Wardens, and Surveyors. And for such more labor in my
absence, I shall somewhat so to you as my Maisters here shall thinke best'
Thanne the Surveyors shall exorte the Surmaister diligently to do his
dewtie, and shall say unto him on this wyse : — ' Your rome is no perpetuitie,
but according to your labor and diligence ye shall continue, otherwise found
not accoiiiting, and reasonable warned of us, ye shall departe. Yf it shall
be so that at any tyme ye will departe of your owne mynde, ye shall give us
half a year waminge.

** ' If any controversy be betwixt you and the Hyghe Maister, ye shall
stande at our direcdon in every thinge.'

*' Yf he will promise this, thenne let The Mercers approve the election of
the Surmaister, and assigne him his lodgings in 7%e Old Chaunge.

" His wagis shall be dr. &/. a weke, and a Lyuery gowne of four nobles
delivered in clothe ; he shall go to comyna with the Hyghe Master, if he
may conveniently.

* ' He shall be absentt in all the yere not above thirty dayes, and yet than
for cause reasonable, and with license had of the Highe Maister, and also
of the Surveyors.

'* In sekenes curable, as aches, or suche sekenes for a tyme, he shall be
tolerated and have his full wagis.

"Yf after his commynge he fall sick into sickenes incurable, as Lepry,
or Fj[qiche Poxe, or, after his longe labor in the Scole, fall into age ympo-
tent, thenne I commit him to the charite of The Mercers, they of the coftir
of the Scole, to provide him a lyving as it may be possible, praying them
to be charitable in that behalf.

1 82 The Great Schools of England,

" Of both Masters at Onys.

'* Yf both maisten be sicke at onys, thenne let the Scole ceasse for that
while.

*' Yf there be suche sicknesse in the citie contagious that the Scole can-
not continue, yet neverthelesse bothe maisters shall have their wages, being
always readie for to teache.

" Neyther of these Maisters shall take Office, or Lectorshype or Proctor^
shype^ ^ or any such other business, which shall let their diligence and their
necessary labor in the Scole : Yf they do, and warned lawfully, if they will
not cease from suche bisines, than lett tham be wamed to departe.

" Lett the High Maister se the Schole to be kept deane by the poor
childe, and be swepte every Satarday, and also the leades, and from tyme
to tyme to call upon The Mercers for necessary reparations.

" The Chapelyn.

"There shall be also in the Schole a Preste, that dayly as he can be
disposed, shall singe masse in the Cbappell of the Scole, and pray for the
Children to prosper in good life and in good literature, to the Ilonor of
God and Our Lord Christ Jesu. At his masse, when the bell in the Scole
shall knyll to sacringe, then all the children in the Scole, knelynge in their
seats, shally with lift upp handes, pray in the time of sacringe. After the
sacringe, when the bell knylleth agayne, they shall sitt downe agayne to
their bokes leaminge. This Preste, some good, honest, and vertuouse man,
shall be chosen from tyme to tyme by The Wardens and Assistance of The
Mercery ; he shall also leame, or, yf he be lemed, helpe to teache in the
Schole, if it shall seme convenient to the Highe Maister, or else not He
shall have no Benefice with Cure nor Service, nor no other office, nor occu-
pation, but attende allonly nppon the Scole. He shall teache the children
the Catechyzon and Instruction of the Articles of the Faythe, and the Ten
Commandments in Ingiiske.

'* His wages shall be Eight pounds by yere, and a Lyuery gowne of
2dr. &/. delivered in clothe.

'* His chamber and lodginge shall be in the new house in The Old Chaypu,
or in the Maistei's lodging, as shall be thought beste.

'* He shall not have his roome by writinge, or at seale, but at libertie
according to his deserving.

" His absence may be once in the yere yf nede be, as yt shall seme best
to the Surveyors of the Scole for that yere, and than with license askyd and
obteyned of the said Surveyors.

" In Sekenesse he shall be nothing abridged of his wages : But let it be
sene that he be hoole in body when he is chosen. Yf he fall to unthrifti-

^ Privileged Beggars, especially for Hospitals.

(

St PauVs. 183

ness and misbehaviour, after lefiill warning, let him be repelled, and
another chosen within eight dayes, or as sone after as can be.

« The Children.

t%

There shall be taught in the Scole, Children of all Nations and Centres
indifferently, to the number of One Hundred and Fifty-three,* according
to the number of the Seates in tfieTScoTe. The Maister shall admit these
Children as they be offirid from tyme to tyme ; but first se that they canne
saye the Catechyzon, and also that he can rede and write competently, else
let him not be admitted in no wise.

" A Childe at the first admission, once for ever, shall paye 4^/. for
wrytinge of his name ; this money of the admissions shal the poor Scholer
have that swepeth the Schole and kepeth the seats cleane.

" In every Forme one principall childe shal be placid in the chayre.
President of that forme.

*' The Children shall come into the Scole in the Momynge at Seven of
the docke, both Winter and Somer, and tarye there untyll Eleven, and
retume againe at One of the clocke, and departe at Five. And thrise in
the daye, prostrate they shall say the prayers with due tract and pawsing
as they be contejmed in a table in the Scole, that is to say, in the Momynge,
and at None, acd at Eveninge.

** In the Scole, in no tyme in the yere, they shall use talough candell in
no wise, but allonly wax candell, at the costes of their frendes.

"Also I will they bring no meate nor drinke, nor bottel, nor use in the
School no breakfasts, nor drinkings, in the tyme of leaminge in no wise ;
yf they nede drincke let them be provided in some other place.

" I will they use no cockfightinge, nor rydinge about of victorye, nor
dtsputing at Saint Bartilimewe, which is but foolish babling, and losse of
time. I will also that they shall have no Remedy es,'^ Yf the Maister
granteth any Remedyes, he shall forfeit 40r. totiens quotiens, excepte the Kyng,
or an Archbishopp, or a Bishop present in his own person in the Scole
desire it

••All these Children shall every Childermas • daye come to Paulis Church
and hear the Childe Bishol^exxoQn ; and after be at the Hygh Masse, and
each of them offer a penny to the Childe Bishcpy and with them the Maisters
and Surveyors of the Scole.^

^ Alluding to the number of Fish taken by St Peter, John xxi. 11. x.-

• Play-days.

s Holy Innocents' day, iSth of December.

4 The Boy Bishop was one of the Choristers of a Cathedral, who was
chosen by the rest to officiate from St, Nicholai day to the evening of
Innocents* day in the habit of a Bishop ; and if he died in the interval, was
buried in the habit, or represented in it, as at Salisbury.

1/

1 84 ^^ Great Schools of En^nd.

" In general Processions, when they be wamid, they shall go twayne and
twayne together soberlye ; and not singe out, but say devoutlye tweyne and
tweyne seven Psalmes with the Letanye.

*' Yf any Childe after he is receyved and admitted into the Scole, go to
any other Scole to leame there after the manner of that Scole, then I will
that suche Childe y^r no matCs suite shaU he hereafter received into our ScoU^
but go where him lyste, where his frendes shall thincke shall be better Ieam>
inge. And this I will be shewed unto his frendes, or other that offer him
at his first presenting into the Scole.

" What shall be Taught,

" As touching in this Scole what shall be taught of the Maisters, and
learned of the Scolers, it passeth my ^-itte to devyse and determine in
particular, but in general to speak and sumewhat to saye my mynde, I
would they were taught always in good literature bothe Laten and Greke,
and good autors such as have the verye Romayne eloquence joyned with
wisdom, specially Christen autors, that wxx>te their wisdome with clean and
chaste Laten, other in verse or in prose, for my intent is by this Scole
specially to encrease knowledge and worshippinge of God and Our Lord
Christ Jesu, and good Christen life and manners in the Children.

** And for that entent £ will the Children leame first above all the Caiechiun
in Englishe, and afler the Accidens that I made, or some other ji any be
better to the purpose, to induce Children more spedely to LAten speeche.
And than Institutum Christiani Hominis^ which that learned Erasmus made
at my requeste, and the boke called Copia of the same Erasmus. And
than other authors Christian, as Lactantius, Prudentius^ and Proba, and
SeduliuSf and Juvencus^ and Baptista Mantuanus, and suche other as shall
be thought convenient and most to purpose unto the true Laten speeche.
All Barbary^ all corruption, all Laten adulterate which ignorant blinde
foles brought into this worlde, and with the same hath dystained and
poysoned the old Laten speeche, and the veraye Romayne tonge, whiche in
the tyme of TtUly^ and Salust^ and Virgell, and Terence, was usid, whiche
also Sainte yerome, and Sainte Ambrose, and Sainte Justen, and many holy
doctors lemed in theyre tymes. I saye that fylthiness and all such abusion
whiche the later blynde worlde brought in, whiche more rather may be
called Blotierature then Literature, I utterly abannyshe and exclude out
of this Scole, and charge the Maisters that they teche always that is
beste, and instruct the Children in Greke and Laten, in redynge unto them
such autors that hathe with wisdome joyned the pure chaste Eloquence."

In the Introduction to the Rudiments of Grammar which
Dean Colet drew up for the service of his School, are the
Rules, homely but excellent, which were to be read over to the

St PauTs. 185

parents when they first brought their children, for their assent
to them, as the express terms and conditions of expecting any
benefit of education there : —

<<

The mayster shall reherse these articles to them that offer their
chyldren, on this wyse here foUowynge : —

" ' If youre chylde can rede and wryte Latyn and Englyshe suffycyently,
so that he be able to rede and wryte his own lessons, then he shal be
admitted into the schole for a scholer.

" * If youre chylde, after resonable season proved, be founde here unapte
and unable to lemjmge, than ye warned thereof, shal take hym awaye, that
he occupye not oure rowme in vayne.

'" If he be apt to leme, ye shal be contente that he continue here tyl he
have competent literature.

** ' If he absente vi dayes, and in that mean season ye shew not cause
reasonable, (resonable cause is allonly sekenes,) than his rowme to be
voyde, without he be admitted agayne, and pay iiii</.

" ' Also after cause shewed, if he contenewe to absente tyl the weke of
admjssion in the next quarter, and then ye shewe not the contenuance of
his sekenes, then his rowme to be voyde, and he none of the scole tyl he
be admytted againe, and paye iiii d. for wryting his name.

" ' Also if he fall thryse into absence, he shall be admytted no more.

" ' Your chylde shal, on Chyldermas daye, wayte upon the boy byshop
at Poulis and offer there.

" * Also ye shal fynde him waxe in winter. »/^^

*' * Also ye shal fynde him convenyent bokes to his lemynge. ' ^

" If the offerer be content with these articles, than let his chylde be
admytted."

1 86 The Great Schools of England.

CHAPTER IL

STATISTICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS.

L Foundation. — ^Although the School, in the ordinances of
Dean Colet, is stated to have been founded in 15 12, there
seems to have been another School on the site in operation
before that period This was doubtless the '' old scole '* which
Dr. Colet purchased, and the site of which he conveyed to the
Mercers' Company. It has already been mentioned that 153
boys were to be admitted, for whose instruction a High Master,
a Sur Master, and a Chaplain were provided. Each child on
admission was to pay '' once for ever," fourpence.

II. The Governing Body. — The government of the School, of
the estates, and of everything relating to them, is entrusted
by Colet's ordinances to the Court of Assistants of the Mercers'
Company. They are annually to choose of their company two
honest and substantial men, called the "Surveyors of the
School," who, in the name of the whole fellowship, shall take
all the charge and business about the School for that one year.

The powers of the two officers (now called the Surveyor
Accountant and Surveyor Assistant) are not defined by Dean
Colet, further than by the direction that they are to enter the
Schodl on fixed days, four times in the year, and then and
there to pay the Masters their quarterly stipend. Once in the
year they are to give the Masters " their livery in cloth ** (now
represented by an annual present of an academic gown), and
at the same time to render their account to the " Master, War
dens, and Assistants of the Fellowship."

The governing body have full powers of altering, amending

St. PauPs. 187

and dispensing with the Ordinances, but under the advice of
** good lettered^ and learned men^

These powers were largely exercised in 1603, when, with
the advice of the Solicitor-General and of another counsel, a
body of amending ordinances was drawn up by the Court of
Assistants, doubling the stipend of the Masters, and otherwise
accommodating the original ordinances to the alleged require-
ments of the time. In particular, the. office of Chaplain was
abolished, an '' Under Usher " being appointed in his stead ;
and an important change was made in the disposition of the
surplus income, which, instead of being placed, according to
the Founder's old-fashioned direction, in a '' coflfur of iren," is
henceforth to be ''employed either in exhibitions to poor
scholars proceeding from Paul's School to the Universities, or
else lent out to poor young men of the said Company of
Mercers, upon good security.*'

The same body have the appointment of all the Masters,
who, unlike those of other Schools, are re-elected annually, and
hold their office from year to year, or during the pleasure of
the Court ^.^

III. EndoTvments and Revenue, — The various kinds of pro-
perty held for the sustentation and support of St Paul's School
consist of houses, lands, rents, consols, and fines upon copy-
holds. The Mercers' Company hold the whole of this for the\
support of the School in obedience to the Ordinances of Dean
Colet, and, according to their own view, are beneficially in-
terested in the surplus revenues after thus maintaining the
School. The correctness of this opinion must be decided by a
i legal tribunal, and the sooner a decision is come to, the better.

Meantime, the Company have not appropriated any portion of
the surplus revenues to their own use, but have managed the
property for many years past with a view solely to what they
have considered the interests of the School.^

^ Report of the Conmiissioners^ p. 188. The Commissioners add, " The

^ enormous increase in value is in itself evidence of a pure and diligent

administration ; nor do we conceive that better care would have been taken

by any other body to which Dean Colet could have entrusted it. We

f

1 88 The Great Schools of England.

The total amount of the present income is stated to be about
12,000/. per annum, a sum which will be largely increased in
a few years.

Masters. — Instead of the High Master, Sur Master, and

Chaplain of the original Ordinances, there are now seven

Masters : four Classical, one Master for Mathematics, and two

Masters for French. Their stipends, paid out of the School

revenues, are as follows : —

£
High Master 900

Sur Master 400

Third Master 320

Fourth Master 300

Mathematical Master 200

French Master 150

Assistant French Mastex 100

The High Master, in addition to his salary, has the rents
of two houses at Stepney, a residence for himself contiguous
to the School, with rates, taxes, and repairs found him, and a
Master's gown every year. The other three Classical Masters
have likewise residences, the rates and taxes of which are paid
for them, and a gown every year.

The High-Master has no power to modify the system and
course of study; such authority being vested only in the
Governors ; but as regards the books or editions of books used
in the School, the choice rests with him.

Numbers and admission of the Scholars. — Every boy at St.
Paul's School is j^ Foundationer, and as such receives a per-
fectly gratuitous education. The Scholars are not appointed
by examination, but are nominated by each member of the
Court of Assistants in rotation ; and they are admitted by the
High Master, under the direction of the Surveyor Accountant.
The qualification for admittance in most cases is simply that
the boy can read and write, and is not under nine years of age.
In those above ten years of age the High Master has the

entirely agree in the remark of Chief Baron Pollock that his selection of a
London Company as Trustees was very wise and sagacious."

St. PauTs. 189

discretion of requiring a superior amount of qualification, but
no particular standard has been decided on.

Arrangement of the School and course of study, — ^The Scholars
in the Classical department are divided into eight classes in.
stead of six, which was the customary number of divisions in
the old Schools. These are taught by four Masters, each taking
two classes, thus : —

8th and 7th, the High Master.

6th and 5th, the Sur Master.

4th and 3d, the Chaplam, or Third Master.

2d and ist, the Assistant Master.

In the Mathematical Department there is a Mathematical
Master, separately appointed, who takes the more advanced
Scholars ; the others are instructed by the Classical Masters,
with the exception of the High Master, whose place is, as it
were, taken by the Mathematical teacher during the afternoons
from two to four on Mondays and Tuesdays. For the instruc-
tion of the School in French, two Masters are appointed, who
attend during the afternoons of Tuesdays and Fridays, under
the general supervision of the High Master, who is always
present

- Having regard to the prevailing sentiments on the subject
of Public School education, it would be well for the governing
body of St Paul's School to consider whether it is desirable
that French should be the only modem language taught there.
For a complete classical or a complete theological training,
German is certainly more needful than French ; forasmuch as
for sixty or eighty years Germany has been producing incom-
parable scholars and incomparable theologians. There are
reasons of another kind why Italian and Spanish should occupy
a place among the studies of this institution, and why some
provision should be made for instruction in music and drawing.
As London is the central point of the world's intercourse, St
Paul's School may be looked on as the central School of the
world. It should therefore be the incessant and zealous en-
deavour of its guardians to adopt all improvements which
embody the age's best and highest aspirations.

SHH

190 734^ Great Schools of England,

Promotions^ Exhibitions^ Prizes, — ^As at some other Public
Schools, class promotion at St. Paul's School depends upon
classical attainments alone. It is not affected by seniority, or
by proficiency in any other branch of study.

In respect of exhibitions and prizes, no School in proportion
to its numbers is more amply endowed than Dean Colet's
Foundation. Of exhibitions annually disposable there are —

1. One of ;£'i20, tenable at any College in Oxford or Cambridge.

2. One of ;f 100, I founded by Viscount Campden, tenable at Trinity

3. One of £%^ \ College, Cambridge.

4. One of £z% tenable for seven years at Corpus Christi College^ Catn>

bridge.

5. One or more of J^^o^ tenable at Oxford or Cambridge.

These are awarded strictly in conformity with the results of
the Apposition Examination, in which the Mathematical marks
count in the proportion of one third to the Classical.

There are also four small exhibitions of 10/. a year each in
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge ; and five, of 13/. a year at
Trinity, and two of 10/. a year for the sons of clergymen at
St John's College, Oxford.

The prizes annually awarded in the School are as follows : —

After the Apposition, to the head boys of all the classes in
the several departments — Classical, Mathematical, French, and
Arithmetic.

At the Apposition, composition prizes are presented, viz. : —

Governors' Prizes — For Greek Iambics, Latin Hexameters, English Essay.

Sleath Prize — ^For a Latin Essay.

Truro Prize (books and a gold medal) — For an English Essay.

Milton Prize — For an English Poem on a sacred subject

At the winter speeches there is a prize also for Latin lyrics.

The whole School is examined every year in the several
departments by examiners specially appointed, and election
to the exhibitions depends mainly on the results of this exami-
nation.

At all times the pupils of Dean Colet's Foundation have
borne off their full share of University distinctions, especially

S/. PauTs. ipi

prior to 1838, when the teaching was exclusively classical.
Since that date the honours have diminished somewhat in
quantity, but they have increased vastly in quality, — the natural
effect of a more extended programme of instruction. In the
period between 1814 and 1838, nearly sixty of the first prizes at
one or other Universities were gained by Paulines ; while sub-
sequently the number won by them has been no less than one
hundred and twenty-five.

Hours of School: RecrecUions, — In the original ordinances,
the School hours were fixed at from 7 a.m. to i i a.m. and firom
I P.M. to 5 P.M. The hours are now limited to six, viz. from
9 A.M. to I P.M. and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. A quarter of an
houi^s break is permitted to the different classes during morning
School.

The interval of an hour between morning and afternoon
school, is partly employed in luncheon or dinner ; for which,
after the observations of the Public Schools Commissioners
on this point, the Company of Mercers will no doubt make
some suitable provision. This may be done without any cost
to the governing body, and it would add very much to the
health and comfort of the Scholars.

The opportunity of athletic exercises is extremely limited.
The play-place is a cloister, paved with flag-stones, under the
Schoolroom, 67 feet in length by 34 in breadth. But the
School being wholly a day-school, the want of better accommo-
dation is not so much felt On the half-holidays the boys play
cricket on a part of Kennington Oval, which the Governors
have engaged for them.

Discipline: Punishment — The monitorial system of St.
Paul's is adapted chiefly to the end of preserving order and
quiet in the Schoolroom. The whole of the 8th class are
monitors ; but they have no power of fagging, or of inflicting
punishment, except by placing a boy in the middle of the
room, and that is understood more as a mark to catch the
master^s eye than as a punishment The infliction of corporal
or other punishment rests with the Masters. The corporal
punishment consists, at the most, of six blows with a cane upon

V

192 TJu Great Schools of England.

the hand ; and the impositions are said not to exceed 50 or
100 lines.^

Holidays, — For about 40 weeks in the year, boys attend
School. The chief vacations are six weeks in the middle of
the year ; four weeks at Christmas ; and a week at Whitsuntide.
There are also whole holidays on : —

Shrove Tuesday.
Ash Wednesday.
Queen's Birthday.
Coronation Day.

Founder's Day.
Fifth of November.
Lord Mayor's Day.

and half-holidays, while the boys are at school, on Wednesdays
and Saturdays.

Religious Observances and Instruction, — The religious observ-
ances prescribed by the Founder seem to have been neither
numerous nor burdensome, i. The boys were ordered, we
have seen, on entering to salute the image of the Child Jesus.
2. At the time of "sacring," (elevation of the Host) in the
adjoining chapel, every child was to remain kneeling upon his
seat ; and 3. Thrice in the day, prostrate, they were to say the
prayers as they are contained in a table in the School At
present, according to the High Master, Latin prayers, which
were written by Erasmus for the School, are read by the
Captain at the beginning and end of each School time.

1 The Public Schools Commissioners speak very properly in terms of
high commendation of the comparative mildness of discipline in St Paul's
School, which stands, they observe *' in favourable contrast with that of
some other Schools that have come under our notice.*'

.HI I l» l»l

rWfc ^TITP

S^. FauTs.

i93»

CHAPTER HI.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

Jli^h Masters of St FauPs School from the Date of its

Establishment.

1512. William Lily.
1522. John Ritwise.
1532. Richard Jones.
1549. Thomas Freeman.
1559. John Cooke.
1573. William Malin.
1 581. John Harrison.
1596. Richard Mnlcaster.
1608. Alexander Gill.
1635. Dr. Alexander GilL
1640. John Langley.t/^

1657. Samuel Cromleholme.
1672. Thomas Gale.
1697. John Postlethwayte.
1 7 13. Philip Ascough.
1 73 1. Benjamin Morland.
1733. Timothy Crumpe.
1737. John Charles.
1748. George Thicknesse.
1769. Richard Roberts.
18 1 4. John Sleath.
1838. Herbert Kynaston.

Few Public Schools can claim to have educated more men
who figure prominently in English histoiy than the foundation
of John Colet.

Sir Antony Denny, Gentleman of the Bedchamber and
Privy Counsellor to Heniy VIII. was one of Lily's earliest
pupils, as were Thomas Lupset, the friend of Colet and
Erasmus ; Sir Edward North^^ founder of the noble family

1 The Norths, it ia known, have had a literary as well as a political
celebrity. Few biographical works, indeed, are more interesting than that
in which Roger North has preserved the memories of his brothers, Francis
Lord Guildford, Keeper of the Great Seal to Charles II. and James IL,
Dr. John North, the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Sir Dudley
NorUi, one of the most eminent merchants, and the ablest financier of his
day. The most noteworthy of the race in later times was Frederic Lord
North, Premier from 1770 to 1782. As a statesman he was unfortunate,

O

y

V

194 ^^^ Great Schools oj England,

of that name; Sir William Paget, who from being the
son of a Serjeant-at-Mace became Privy Counsellor to four
successive sovereigns, and acquired the title now held by his
descendant the owner of Beaudesert; and John Leland,
the celebrated archaeologist

In the long and brilliant array of Paulines trained by the
Masters who succeeded Lily, we find William Whitaker, one
of the earliest and most puissant champions of the Reformation ;
William Camden,^ antiquarian and herald ; the immortal John

but rather from facility of disposition than from deficiency of ability or from
perversity of character. As a wit, he was renowned among wits ; as a
classic distinguished among scholars ; and for his bonhommU and exquisite
urbanity almost universally beloved.

1 From St Paul's, Leland went first to Christ's College, Cambridge, but
soon removed to Oxford. After quitting Oxford he travelled on the Con-
tinent, and became acquainted with Budaeus, Faber, and other learned men.
With a proficiency in Greek and Latin, this eminent antiquarian combined
a knowledge of ancient German, Welsh, French, Italian, and Spanish.
From the discursiveness of his puisuits, and the diversity of his acquire*
ments, he admirably represented that universality of research and attain-
ment at which Colet aimed when establishing his school.

In 1553 Leland was appointed "The King's Antiquary,*' and received
from Henry VIII. a special commission " to make search after England's
antiquities, and peruse the libraries of all cathedrals, abbeys, priories,
colleges, and other places where records, writings, and the secrets of anti-
quity were reposited." To this task he devoted many years of diligent
investigation, and many more to the arrangement and classification of his
remaining stores. Under this excessive toil his brain at length gave way,
and he died without recovering the reason which he had so prodigally spent
in usefiil purposes.

' This still more distinguished antiquary greatly resembled Leland in his
proficiency in languages, in his desire to study antiquities as well by actual
observation as through books, and in his unremitting industry. Having
acquired considerable celebrity at Oxford for his scholarship, he began his
historical and antiquarian researches by making an extensive tour of England.
In 1575 he was appointed Sub-Master of Westminster School, and for the
following ten years could dedicate only the vacations to his favourite pur-
suit Such were his ardour and diligence, however, that in 1586 he pre-
sented his Britannia to Lord Burleigh. On this great work, and on another
which he entitled Remains of a Greater Work Concerning Britain^ published
in 1605, Camden's antiquarian reputation rests. In 1592 he became Head
Master of Westminster School, for which he composed a Greek granimar,

St. PauTs, 195

Milton;^ Sir Charles Scarborough, the physician to
Charles^II. ; Samuel Pepys, the inimitable diarist ;^ Robert

afterwards so popular that it ran through no less than forty editions.
Camden, in 1622, founded the Oxford Historical Professorship, which beans
his name, and towards the end of the followinf^ year closed a memorable
life, in the seventy-third year of his age.

' Of her many claims upon the gratitude of England, St Paul's School
urges none so august and irresistible as that of having educated John
Milton. This illustrious poet, devoted patriot, and accomplished scKoTar,'^
was bom within a few yards of the School, and sleeps his last sleep almost
beneath the shadow of the Cathedral. Hi:i great works, *' performed under
discountenance and in blindness,*' follow him, but it is to be wished that
the Governors of the Foundation, which owes so much to the lustre of
Milton's fame, would commemorate his connexion with them by some
monumental tablet, bust, or statue. At the least, that they would found
a Milton Scholarship, or ordain that the great poet's birthday should for
ever be a school holiday.

' Though the immediate origin of Pepys was humble enough, he descended
from a good old Cambridgeshire family, and was allied to the Montagues, \^-
Earls of Sandwich. Upon leaving St. Paul's School he appears as a Sizar
on the boards of Trinity College, Cambridge, whence he removed to
Magdalen College, in the same University.

The little that is known of him as an undergraduate, consists but of a
record proving that in early life, as in later years, he was a bon vivant. In
the College Register book we find the following : — ** October 21, 1653.
Memorandam, that Peapys and Hind were solemnly admonished by myself 1^
and Mr. Hill for having been scandalously over-served with drink y* night
before. This was done in the presence of all the Fellows then resident in
Mr. Hill's chamber. John Wood, Registrar."

An early marriage with a lady, very young, very beautiful, and very poor,
though in itself imprudent, saved him probably from the career of a prodigal.
Their privations shortly after marriage were subjects of grateful reflection
in better times.

Under the 25th February, 1667, this entry occurs in Pepys' diary :<—
( " Lay long in bed, talking with pleasure with my poor wife, how she used
I to make coal fires, and wash my foul clothes with her own hand for me,
I poor wretch ! in our little room at my Lord Sandwich's ; for which I ought
for ever to love and admire her, and do ; and persuade myself she would do
\ the same thing again, if God should reduce us to it"

Appointed through the interest of Lord Sandwich to some trifling post in
the Navy Office, he rose at length to be Secretary to the Navy Board, a
sitoation in which his acuteness and integrity were conspicuously serviceable.
Though an adherent of the House of Stuart in manhood, his political

O 2

— ■ci.'A.Jn^vw. i - xjw w.^i^— L-wui ■^■j*t^ s vm^

196 Tke Great Schools of England,

Nelson, author of a once highly popular book, A Companion
for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church of England^ and one

opinionB as a boy tended all to the Republican side ; he has left an amusing
instance of the apprehension this latter circumstance occasioned him :
" Here dined with us two or three more country gentlemen ; among the rest
Mr. Christmas, my old school-fellow, with whom I had much talk. He
did remember that I was a great Roundhead when I was a boy, and I was
much afraid that he would have remembered the words that I said the day
the king was beheaded (that were I to preach upon him, my text should be,
' The memory of the wicked shall rot '), but I found afterwards that he did
go away from school before that time.*'

After the death of Oliver Cromwell, and throughout the precarious Pro-
tectorship of Richard Cromwell, he seems to have consorted much with
Harrington, Hazelrigge, and other leading Republicans. When the Resto-
ration occurred he became, as, holding office, was natural, a courtier, but
were the eulogy of Cromwell now to be written, abounding materials for
that purpose might be drawn from Pepys' diary.

A pleasing trait in the character of Pepys is his attachment to St Paul's
School. On the 9th January, 1659, we find him " Up early •to look over
and correct his brother John's speech for the next Apposition." On the 7th
of the succeeding February he visits the School, "where he that made the
speech for the seventh form in praise of the Founder, did shew a book which
Mr. Crumlum [Cromleholme] had lately got, which he believed to be of the
Founder's own writing. My brother John," records Pepys affectionately,
"came off as well as any of the rest in the speeches." He notes con-
tinually his accidental meetings, or set drinking parties, with his old school-
fellows, and having recorded a visit "in the Lord Admiral's coach to
Mercers' Hall," 23d January, 166 1, adds — ^^ It pleased me much to come in
this condition to this place^ where I was once a petitioner for my exhibition in
PauTs School** On the 23d December in the same year, " Lighting at my
bookseller's, in St Paul's churchyard, I met there with Mr. Crumlum and
the second master of Paul's School, and thence I took them to 'The Starr,'
and there we sat and talked," &c. Pepys here promised his old preceptor
to make a present to the School of any book he would choose up to the
value of 5/. and in performance of this engagement, paid about twelve-
months later "4/. lOr. for Stephen's Thesaurus Graces JJn^uce^ given to
Paul's School." On the following 4th February (1662), he records — "To
Paules Schoole, it being Apposition-day there. I heard some of their
speeches, and they were just as school-boys used to be, of the seven liberal
sciences, but I think not so good as ours were in our time,** After a short busi-
ness call in the neighbourhood, " back again to Paul's Schoole, and went up
to see the head forms posed in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew; but I think they
do not answer in any so well as we did, only in geography they did pretty

Sf. FauTs. 197

of the first promoters of the Society for the Propagation of
the Gospel in Foreign Parts ; Dr. Benjamin Calamy ; Dr.
Richard Meggot ; Richard Cumberland, Bishop of Peter-
borough ; Sir John Trevor, blaster oRhe Rolls, and Speaker
of the House of Commons ; Sir Edmund Northey, Attorney-
General; Roger Cotes, first Professor of Astronomy in the
Chair founded at Cambridge by Dr. Plume; Archibald, Earl
OF Forfar ; Charles, Duke of Manchester, and John, the
great Duke of Marlborough.^ ' '

well. * * * So down to the School, where Mr. Cnimlum did me much
honour by telling many what a present I had made to the School, showing
my Stephanus in four volumes. He also showed us, upon my desire, an old
edition of the grammar of Coletts, where his epistle to the children is very
pretty ; and in reheandng the Creed, it is said, ' borne of the deane Virgin
Mary.'" On the 4th February, 1663-4, Pepys went once more — "To
Pauls School, and up to hear the upper form examined ; and there was kept
by very many of the Mercers, Clutterbucke, Barker, Harrington, and
others, and with great respect used by all, ami had a noble dinfurj** On
9th March, 1665, Pepys was again "at Pauls School, where," he adds, "I
visited Mr. Crumlum at his house, and Lord ! to see how ridiculous a con-
ceited pedagogue he is, though a learned man, he being so dogmatical in
all he do and says. But among other discourse we fell to the old discourse
of Panic's Schoole, and he did, upon my declaring my value of it, give nie
one of Lilly's grammars of a very old impression, as it was in the Catholique
times, which I shall much set by." During the Great Fire of London,
2d — 7th September, 1666, our diarist " saw all the towne burned, and a
miserable sight of Pauls Church, with all the roofs fallen, and the body of
the quire fallen into St Fayths ; Pauls School also, Ludgate and Fleet
Street ;" and on the 15th of the following May, at a parish dinner party at
the Three Tuns Tavern, he and his fellow convives "did talk of Pauls
School, which they tell me must be taken away ; and then I fear that it
will be long before another place, such as they say is promised, is found ;
but they do say," adds Pepys, ** that the honour of their Company is con-
cerned in the doing of it, and that it is a thing that they are obliged to do."

Pepys sat in the House of Commons for Castle Rising, and subsequently
represented Harwich. He rose to wealth and eminence as Clerk of the
Treasurer to the Commissioners of the Affairs of Tangier, and Surveyor-
General of the Victualling Department, and appears on all occasions to
have been a useful and energetic public servant

1 The Duke of Marlborough may not have been the greatest statesman,

but assuredly he was tKegreatest general of his age, and it is probable that

'f he was the most accomplished tactician and strategist that England has

198 The Great Schools of England,

Among the Paulines of a later period we have George
Hooper, Bishop of Bath and Wells; Samuel Bradford, Bishop
of Rochester; John Long, Bishop of Norwich; Spencer
CoMPTON, Speaker of the House of Commons ; Spencer Cooper,
Chief Justice of Chester ; Halley,^ the great astronomer ; the
gallant but unfortunate Major Andre ;^ Bishop Fisher, tutor
to the late Duke of Kent,^SiR Philip Francis; Dr. Oliphant,
Bishop of LlandafF; Sir Charles Wetherell ; Sir Frederick
Pollock, the present Lord Chief Baron ; Lord Chancellor
Truro; Lee Prince, Bishop of Manchester; and the dis-
tinguished Greek Professor at Oxford, Benjamin Jowett.

produced. If there has been indiscriminating adulation, there has been
likewise indiscriminating abuse. Few will be inclined to agree entirely
either with Coxe, or Macaulay, or Addison, in his estimate of Marlborough.
It has been said of him not unfairly, " during a period of excessive comip-
^Y^ tion, he was not more corrupt than others." At the Apposition banquet of
1846, Lord John Russell felicitously observed, — ** But for St. Paul's School,
Milton's harp would have been mute and inglorious, and Ma'rlborough's
sword might have rusted in the scabbard." And by those who can appre-
ciate what is noble amid the darkness and disfigurement of the ignoble,
and who can make allowance for human infirmity, the renown of Marl-
borough will, perhaps, be thought to throw a lustre on St. Paul's School
as opulent, if not so pure, as the renown of Milton.

* H alley entered St. Paul's School at ten years of age, and for a brief
season must have been under the accomplished Hellenist, Thomas Gale.
But it was mathematics, not Greek, which irresistibly attracted him ; and
he himself tells us that before leaving the School he had already made
observations on the magnetic needle.
/ s It seems as if everything to complete its beauty and perfection should
1' have some mournful memories and associations, and St. Paul's School has
a tragic shadow thrown over its bright memories by the fate of Andre,
aide-de-camp to the English general, Clinton. At the epoch of American
independence, he fell a victim to the perfidy of the American general,
Arnold, who, feigning, or, perhaps, really purposing to betray his country,
had begun recently to negotiate with the English. In the development of
the affair, Arnold and Andr^ entered into correspondence ; and all their
measures having been taken, Andr^ went to meet Arnold at West Point.
On his return, and when he thought himself safe from the outposts of the
enemy, he was arrested and shot as a spy. _^

I

/ t

• ^r : . * J ^.Vu

•0 C< rx J

Sf. PauPs,

199

GOVERNMENT OF THE SCHOOL.
Court of Assistants in 1865.

C. F. Johnson, Esq.

T. Watney, Esq.

L. P. Wilson, Esq.

James Watney, Esq.

H. Wathen, Esq.

John Watney, Esq.

W. Barnes, Esq.

C. Powell, Esq.

T. Barker, Esq.

E. H. Palmer, Esq. y^

SirR. Palmer, M.P^^/V

W. H. Sutton, Esq. ^

W. L. Sutton, Esq.

W. H. Harton, Esq.

W. Ffarington, Esq.

u. «^

D. Watney, Esq.
G. Aston, Esq.
Lieutenant-Colonel Palmer.
Rev. C. Lane.
Rev. M. Barnard.
The Rev. Canon J. W. Blakesley.
J. Shuttleworth, Esq.

E. T. Fitz-Gerald, Esq.
J. W. Wateon, Esq.

-rT. J. Watney, Esq.
4 R. W. Fall, Esq.
J. P. Holmes, Esq.
A. Watney, Esq.
J. C. Palmer, Esq.

Surveyor Accountant— l^im. Shuttleworth, Esq.

Educational Staff in 1863.

Hi^ Masier—Rev, Herbert Kjmaston, D.D. Prebendary of St Paul's
late Student, Tutor, and Philological Lecturer of Christ Church,
Oxford, and one of the Select University Preachers.

Sur-Jifaslcr— -Rev. J. H. Lupton, M. A. late Fellow of St. John's College,
Cambridge.

Third Master— Rev. K T. Hudson, M.A.

Assistant Mastcr-^Rev. J. W. Shepard, M.A.

Mathematical Master— Y., A. Hadley, Esq. M.A. Fellow of Trinity College,

Cambridge.

French Masters,
First Master — M. T. Pagliardini. | Secoftd Master — M. Stievenard.

EXAMINERS.

Clcusics.

Rev. T. H. Steel, M.A. Assistant Master at Harrow ; late Fellow of

Trinity College, Cambridge.
Yen. R. W. Browne, M.A. Archdeacon of Bath, Prebendary of Wells, and
Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of Bath and Wells, &c.

Mathematics.

W. H. Besant, Esq. M.A. late Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge;

Examiner in Mathematics to the London University.

French.
M. Dupont, Professor of French at Westnunster School ; Examiner for the

Civil Service, &c.

200 T/te Great Schools of Engiand.

CHAPTER IV.

PROPOSALS FOR THE REMOVAL OF THE SCHOOL, AND
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY THE
ROYAL COMMISSION.

The observations and arguments of the Public Schools' Com-
missioners upon the question of removing St Paul's School to
a more eligible site are of such immense significance to the
educational interests of the Metropolis, that it has been thought
indispensably necessary to give here, at least, the most impor-
tant of them.

"In the detailed statement of expenditure for i860, which
will be found in the answers of the Mercers* Company, under
date May 19, we come upon the following item : —

'New 3 per cent, annuities, purchase of 2,684/. ii'* 3^-
stock at 93, and commission, 2,500/.'

" This item represents pretty nearly the excess of the ordinary
annual revenue of the School over its ordinary expenditure ;
according to our evidence, rather less than more. We have it
also in evidence that this surplus is increasing, and that it is
likely at a not very distant period (1888), to rise to more than
double its present amount It also appears that for several years
past a surplus has existed, and that the accumulations from
this source amounted in i860 to a sum not less than 33,000/.,
yielding at that time an income of upwards of 1,250/ We are
not told for how many years this process of accumulation has
been going on, but even so long ago as 1835 the Coiporation
Commissioners were led to remark, * that the present large and
improving revenue, under a somewhat more economical system,
would be adequate to the production of a far more extensive

St Paul's, 201

benefit than the mere instruction in classical learning of 153
scholars ;* and they * recommend the remedy to the anxious
consideration of the Company.'

" The first step taken by the Court, was the appointment of
a Committee in the spring of 1856.

" This Committee was to consider * if any and what improve-
ment or addition can be made to St. Paul's School, in conse-
quence of the funds of that institution annually producing so
much more than« the expenditure, and the savings having
reached an amount exceeding 20,000/.'

" Their Report, dated September 23d, 1859, states that their
first step was to obtain Counsel's opinion * as to the powers of
the Trustees of St. Paul's School' According to this opinion,
the Court have the power of increasing the number of boys on
the Foundation ; but have not the power, without Act of Par-
liament, to remove the School and buildings from their present
site, or to sell the ground on which they now stand, and pur-
chase other ground and erect another school out of the metro-
polis. Neither have they, in the opinion of the same Counsel,
the power of applying the funds of the School towards the
boarding and lodging as well as the education of the scholars.
In conclusion they are recommended to apply for an Act of
Parliament to empower them to remove the School and extend
the benefits of the Foundation in the manner above indicated.

" In conformity with the spirit of the Founder's directions
the Committee very properly applied for the advice, not only
of three of the Masters and the two official Examiners of the
School, but also of the Bishops of London, Llandaff, and
Manchester, and the Lord Chief Baron, of whom the three last
had received their education at St. Paul's.

"As an immediate result of these communications, and of
the legal opinion obtained, the Committee were enabled, —
I. To recommend the removal of the School from its present
site ; 2. To advise unanimously that, if removed, it should be
rebuilt in some place within the limits of the Metropolitan
District

"The Report of this First Committee is dated the 23rd

2oa The Great Schools of England*

September, 1859 ; but in the previous July a second Committee
had been nominated, to which the Report was referred by the
Court of Assistants. This second Committee, while acknow-
ledging the great present and greater prospective increase in
the revenues of the School, differ widely from the former in
their view of the best use to be made of the accruing funds.
Having ' satisfied themselves that there is a present available
surplus of at least 2,500/. per annum arising from the Coletine
estates, and that there is an additional prospect of at least
2,000/. more per annum in the year 1888 ;' and having also
*• satisfied themselves that the utmost possible increase of school
accommodation on the present site would not allow of the
education of more than 280 or 290 boys in the whole, while
even this extension would involve the displacement of all the
Masters but one from their residences, and a thorough alter-
ation of the whole arrangements of the existing school buildings
at an expense not ascertained, but undoubtedly very great ;*
they state that the increase of numbers does not seem to them
to justify * the expenditure of so large a sum as the ' present,
and yet more of the prospective income of the Coletine estate ;'
and then proceed to recommend a wholly different measure,
* the creation of another School in the country,* the retention of
the present School in St. Paul's Churchyard, and the increase
of the number of scholars from 153 to 200.

" It will be seen that in the two Reports three several schemes
of dealing with the surplus funds are advanced : —

" I. That of simply extending the usefulness of the School
as it stands, by increasing the number of scholars
from 153 to something less than 300, and altering
the present buildings to provide for the accommo-
dation of the increased number.
" 2. That of removing the School to another site in the me-
tropolitan district, and selling the existing buildings.
*' 3. A two-fold scheme, combining a small increase in the
numbers of the present School, which is to remain
on its present site, with the erection of a second
School lor boarders in some locality in the country.

St Paufs. 203

** Of these schemes we dismiss the first for tlje reasons stated
by the second Committee, which appear to us conclusive. We
have very carefully considered the relative merits of the second
and third schemes, and we proceed now to mention the prin-
cipal reasons which have led us, upon the whole and after
much discussion, to decide on recommending the second.

" We have first to remark that the present site at the east
end of St Paul's Churchyard appears to us in itself objection-
able. Mr. Carver, a former Sur-Master, mentions many incon-
veniences to which both masters and boys are subjected in
consequence. Great interruption, it appears, is 'occasioned
by the noise of the traffic outside, which renders it necessary
to have as few boys as possible congregated in one room/
The boys can * talk aloud to one another with almost perfect
impunity,* nay, are almost * compelled to do so if any com-
munication at all is to be allowed them. The Masters also in
the attempt (under such circumstances only partially successful)
to make themselves heard by the class with which they are
immediately engaged, necessarily occasion serious interruption
to each other, while the boys around their very desks are able
to conununicate with one another without a chance of detec-
tion, except by the eye of the Master/ We cannot but think
that the effects of such a condition of things upon the progress,
the faculties, and in some degree upon the bodily health of the
scholars must be injurious. A similar view is taken by the
Bishop of Llandaif, who remarks that ' the site is so objection-
able that if the same reasons had existed three centuries ago,'
he 'cannot persuade himself that Dean Colet would have
selected it,' neither does he think * that the spirit of his will or
his intention in founding the School would be violated by a
mere transfer of the site.'

" Having spoken thus decidedly in reprobation of the present
site under existing circumstances, we guard ourselves against
the inference that the question of locality is entirely open, or
limited only by sanitary or financial considerations. We agree
with the Bishops of Llandaff and Manchester, and with the

I
J

204 ^^ Great Schools of England.

Chief Baron, in thinking that Dean Colet must be held to have
designed a special benefit for the inhabitants of the metropolis,
native or foreign, and that this benefit was intended by him to
be conveyed through the agency of a day school, to which the
dwellers in London were to have access for the purpose of
acquiring the highest literary culture attainable in his time.
Were we compelled to choose between retaining the School on
its present site and the removal of it to a country neighbour-
hood, we might, perhaps, experience some difficulty in deciding
between the educational interests of London and those of the
country at large ; but before we can acknowledge the existence
of such a dilemma, two things must be proved. It should be
shown : — i. That London is in no want of extended means of
classical education ; and 3. That whatever this need may be,
a suitable metropolitan site is absolutely unattainable. On the
first point, we have only to express an entire concurrence with
the Bishop of London, whose * decided opinion is, that since
the very existence of such schools as that of King's College
shows that there is as much call now as at any other time for
thoroughly efficient day schools of the character of St Paul's
School, the Trustees would not be justified in removing this
school into the country and converting it into a boarding-
school."

" With regard to the other question, that of site, we can well
understand that differences of opinion may exist ; but we think
that for the sum which the present site would fetch (reckoned
by one competent witness at 60,000/.) a considerably laiger
plot of ground might be obtained in a less frequented, and
therefore more suitable part of the metropolis, and that within
a mile or two of the present School. We conceive that in the
present state of communication by omnibus or rail, such locali-
ties as Pentonville, or even the town approaches to Regent's
Park, are liable to no objection. A few (say four) acres of land
by way of play-ground, would be an inestimable advantage ;
but if that were found unattainable, even room, as Sir F.
Pollock suggests, for a fives court or two, with something

St Paurs. 205

in the nature of a cloister for wet weather, and an open
area for walking or running about, and for gymnastic exer-
cises in the intervals of school, would be a great improvement
upon the present state of things. As we recommend a retired
site, high architectural embellishment would be unnecessary,
and the building funds should be devoted as much as pos-
sible to securing the very best internal accommodation. The
memories of the past would be preserved by the existing
and perhaps a few additional busts of distinguished Paulines ;
and a principal school-room, plain but imposing from its dig-
nified proportions, would leave the architectural taste of the
scholars uncomipted if not improved. We need not say that
an ample supply of class-rooms, and a library capable of con-
taining a laige addition to the present collection, are indis-
pensable. At least one Master's house should be built close
to the School, and we think with the Bishop of Manchester,
that means should, if possible, be found of providing at any
rate luncheon if not a plain dinner on the premises. We
mention 500 as the number of boys which the buildings should
accommodate, but it would not be necessary, nor perhaps
desirable, that this number should be reached at once.

" When we mention 500 as the future number, we do not
intend that all the additional boys should be scholars entitled
to a gratuitous education. Enough would be done if the
scholars proper were increased from 153 to 200. The re-
mainder might reasonably be called on to pay a school fee of
10/. in return for an education for which from 20/. to 30/. is
paid elsewhere. In the School thus reorganized we strongly
recommend that even the modified system of nomination
which we have previously suggested should be abandoned, and
the Foundation thrown open, as at Eton and Winchester, to
perfectly unrestricted competition.

" The number of Exhibitions would not need to be increased
nearly in proportion to the increase of boys. Probably twice
the present number would suffice for a school of 500, and the
additional Exhibitions need not, and in our opinion should not,
exceed 50/. or 60/. in value. The additions to the salaries of

2o6 The Great Schools of England,

the High Master and other Masters, and the entire salary of
the additional Masters, would be nearly met by the School fees,
which should be paid into a fund for the purpose. The Head
Master of a School so large and important as that we have
proposed should be liberally remunerated. i,8oo/. with a
house, or 2,000/. without a house, would not, in our opinion, be
too much ; and the Sur-Master should receive a considerable
addition to his present emoluments.

" Pending the arrangements necessary for carrying out this
scheme of extension, we should advise that a moderate increase
of forty or fifty be made in the present number of the School ;
but these additional boys should pay a fee of 10/. per annum
for their instruction, with, perhaps, a moderate entrance fee.
The money thus obtained would provide for the remuneration
of the additional Classical Master, and diminish the charge on
the School funds which would be entailed by the appointment
of a Lecturer in Science, a German Master, and teachers of
Music and Drawing.

** These Non-Foundationers should, we think, be entitled to
compete for exhibitions under the same conditions as the
present Scholars, and their admission might advantageously be
left in the hands of the High Master, subject to conditions as
to age and attainments to be fixed by him with the concurrence
of the Surveyors.

" Summary of Recommendations,

"Of our General Recommendations the first, and as we
believe the most important, are those affecting the constitution
and powers of the Governing Bodies. In these we have in the
majority of cases proposed important modifications ; and if we
hesitate to do so in the case of St Paul's, it is not because we
regard with entire satisfaction either the organization of its
Board of Governors or the manner in which their powers have
been exercised. As guardians indeed of the School property,
the Court of Assistants appear to have performed their duty
both honourably and efficiently. But the administration of the

St, PauVs. 207

School property is one thing, the government of the School is
another ; and assuredly a body constituted as is the Court of
Assistants, cannot be considered as in all respects 'suitable
and efficient for the purposes and duties* which the Governing
Body of a School is or ought to be called upon to fulfil. The
number is, in our opinion, too large, and as it is impossible
that the members of the Court should be selected with any
special view to their knowledge or experience of educational
matters or to their literary or scientific attainments, it must, we
think, inevitably happen that the majority will consist of per-
sons indisposed to trust to their own judgment in considering
any plan that may be brought before them for the improvement
of the School or the extension of its field of usefulness. The
tendencies of such a body will not be progressive, and it is
therefore no matter of surprise that we should have had to
echo the complaint of a Commission which reported more than
a quarter of a century ago.

" That a School of such magnitude as this will be should be
administered with a view solely to the higher educational
interests of the metropolis, is what the country has a right to
demand of those who will have the distribution of its ample
resources ; but the recent history of St Paul's School has shown
that there has been a growing tendency in the Court of Assist-
ants to narrow the sphere of its operation, and convert it more
and more from a Public School into a mere charitable founda-
tion, useful, doubtless, to individuals, but of inferior public
importance. It would be a grievous injury to the cause of
classical education if the same principles of exclusive patronage
were allowed to obstruct admission to a School which might
and ought to become the first in London and one of the first
in Great Britain.

"The time seems to have arrived when more formal and
systematic effect should be given to the memorable ordinance
of the Founder, that on important occasions recourse should
be had to the advice of ' well-literate and learned men.' The
spirit of this ordinance would be preserved by such a recon-
stitution of the Governing Body as should include, on the one

ao8 The Great Schools of England,

hand, the Master, Wardens, and Surveyors, with perhaps oae
or two elective members, of the Mercers* Company ; and on the
other, an equal number of persons extraneous to the Company,
to be selected by the Crown in consideration of personal
eminence or special fitness to superintend a place of liberal
education.

"Recommendations XXVI. XXVII. and XXVIII. are
also clearly inappropriate, but, with these exceptions, all the
General Recommendations apply wholly or partially to this
School Of Special Recommendations the following are the
principal which we uige upon the attention of the Governing
Body with an earnest desire that they may be carried into
effect

" I. The immediate appointment of an additional Classical
Master.

'' 2. The abrogation of the rule that the Master shall annually
go through 2i pro forma re-election, and the transference of the
power of appointing and dismissing the Assistant Masters
(including the Sur-Master) from the Governing Body to the
High Master.

"3. The abolition of the present system of nomination ; and
the substitution of a system of limited competition. When
the School is removed from its present site, we have recom-
mended that the Foundation be thrown open to the unrestricted
competition of boys between the ages of 11 and 15, according
to a scheme to be agreed upon by the Governors with the
assistance of the High Master.

"4. A small immediate addition to the numbers of the
School of 40 or 50 boys above the age of 11 and below 15 to
be admitted at the discretion of the High Master after an ex-
amination such as that proposed in General Recommendation
XXIII. these additional boys to pay 10/. per annum for tuition,
with a moderate admission fee, should it be deemed advisable ;
and to be allowed to compete for Exhibitions on the same
footing as the 153 boys on the Foundation. The number Of
these Non-Foundationers to be gradually increased to not less
than 300 after the removal of the School to a new site.

. JBIV^BBVHVi^

St Paufs. 209

" 5. That eligibility to Exhibitions be extended to all boys
who have entered the School under the age of 15.

" 6. That any boy who may have been recommended for an
Exhibition be permitted to leave the School at the end of the
half year in which the recommendation has been made.

" 7. That all Exhibitions in the gift of the Company be
made tenable at any College in either University.

" 8. That a Lecturer in Natural Science be appointed by
the Court and furnished out of the School funds with proper
apparatus.

"9. That the Head Master be authorized to appoint a
German teacher, and Masters of Drawing and of Music, to be
paid out of the School funds, and that half-yearly prizes be
given for proficiency in these subjects and in Natural Science.

2IO The Great Schools of England.

I/' MERCHANT TAYLORS'.

"HOMO PLANTAT, HOMO IRRIGAT, SED DEUS DAT INCREMENTUM."

CHAPTER I.— HISTORICAL.

The foundation of this excellent Grammar School, one of
the oldest and best-supported nurseries of learning of which
London can boast, is due to the wisdom and munificence of
the ancient " Company of the Marchaunt Taylors," a society
which has, according to Stow, been a Guild or Fraternity
from time immemorial, by the name of " Taylors and Linen
^ Armourers,'* and which had its Fellowship confirmed as
far back as the reign of Edward I. ; a Company, moreover,
which displays upon its roll ten Kings of England, four foreign
Sovereigns and Princes, Dulces/tarls, Barons, Prelates, and
distinguished characters in various walks of life, innumerable.

The first intention of the " Merchant Taylors' Company " to
found a Grammar School " for the better education and bring-
ing up of children in good manners and literature " was mani-
fested in the spring of 1 560-1, About this period a leading
member of the Fraternity, Mr. Richard Hills, generously offered
the sum of 500/. (equivalent to about 3,000/. at the present day)
towards the purchase of a part of the " Manor of the Rose,"
in the parish of St Lawrence Potilteney. The " Rose " was a
spacious mansion, originally built by Sir John Pulteney, Knight,
five times Lord Mayor of London, in the reign of Edward *III.
Its fortunes had been various. After passing through the
hands of several noble families — ^the Hollands, De la Poles,
Staflfords, and Courtenays — their tenancies in too many in-

Merchant Taylors',

211

stances terminating by the tragical process of attainder, it was
granted to the Ratcliffe or Sussex family, who obtained leave
to part with it in a more businesslike manner.^

The names of the street, Suffolk Lane, from which it is entered,
and of the parish, St. Laurence Poultney, in which it is situated,
still recall its former occupants. ** Ducksfoot Lane," in the
vicinity, was the Duke's FootLane^ or private pathway from his
garden, which lay to the east of the mansion, to the river ; while
the upper part of St. Laurence Poultney-hill, was, until the last
few years, called " Green Lettuce Lane," a corruption of Green
Lattice Lancy so named from the lattice gate which opened into
what is now named Cannon Street.

From this family the Company of Merchant Taylors, in 156 1,
bought a moiety of the palace. Their purchase comprised
" the west gate-house, a long court or yard, the winding stairs
at the south end of the said court on the east side thereof
(leading as well from the court unto the leads over the chapel,
as also to two galleries over the south end of the court), the
said two galleries, and part of the chapel." This portion was
devoted to the purposes of the School of which we are about
to give some account. It may be added that the site of the
remainder of the mansion, and of the garden which lay to the
east of it, have been recently obtained by the same opulent
corporation, at the cost of 20,000/., solely with the purpose of
benefiting the School. In a few months after taking posses-
sion of the property first purchased, on the 24th of September,
1 56 1, the institution being then completely organized, the
Master, Wardens, and Assistants, in the name of the whole

1 Shakespeare has rendered the ** Manor of the Rose," or *' Pulteney*s
Inn," as it was sometimes called, a memorable spot to all time, by his allu-
sion to it in King Henry VIII. In the first act of that play, it will be
remembered, Buckingham's surveyor appears before the Court to impeach
his master, and tells the King —

" Not long before your Highness sped to France,
The Duke, being at the Rose, within the parish *
St. Lawrence Poultney, did of me demand ,

What was the speech among the Londoners
Concerning the French journey."

P 2

212 T7u Great Schools of England,

body of the Company, met and agreed upon the Statutes
"which had been framed for the regulation of the School.^ By
these Statutes it was ordained that the High Master should be
" a man in body whole, sober, discrete, honest, vertuous, and
learned in good and cleane Latine literature, and also in Greeke,
)rf such may be gotten." He might be either wedded or single,
"or a priest that had no benefice. His continuance in office
was to depend upon his fulfilment of its duties, and he was not
to resign the appointment without giving twelve months* notice.
He was to be assisted by a Chief Usher, and by two subordi-

[nate Ushers, who were to be chosen by him with the approval
of the Master and Wardens of the Company. The number of
Scholars was limited to 250 ; and these, with a noble liberality,
^were ordained to be " of all nations and countries indifferently." *
Once in every year the Master, Warden, and Assistants, with
the aid of such learned men as they could procure, were to
examine and try whether the Master and Ushers had done
their duties in the School, and at the same time ascertain how
the children had profited under them.

The records of the Company are imperfect about the time
when the School was founded, but the industrious research of
Dr. Wilson, the author of The History of Merchant Taylor's
Schooly has discovered the names of twenty-four of the thirty
members of the Company to whom we are indebted for this
admirable institution. These memorable persons were : —

1 The Statutes adopted for the government of Merchant Taylors' School
are, with a few tridmg exceptions, the same as those drawn up by Dean
Colet for the regulation of St PauFs School (see p. 179); it is unnecessary,
therefore, to reprint them.

' In this, as in other provisions for the regulation of the School, the
Company followed the large-hearted example set them by Dr. Colet. As
both schools were for day-scholars only, the clause in question must be
understood to mean, that the children of parents of any nation resident in
London were eligible for admission.

By a subsequent resolution of the Company, in the early part of the
eighteenth century, the children of Jews were excluded from the benefit
of the School. This exception does not harmonize with the liberality which
originally opened the School to all nations, and if it has not been, we trust
that it soon will be, nscinded.

Merchant Taylors',

213

Sir Thomas White, Kt and Alder-
man.

Sir Thomas Offeley, Kt. and Alder-
man.

Sir William Harper, Kt. and Alder-
man.

Mr. Thomas Rowe, Alderman,

Richard Wadington,

Edward Ley.

Thomas Acworth.

Emanuel Lucar.

William Flectewood.

William Rigeley.

William Merick.

Ffrancis Pope.
John Travers.
William Sulyerd.
Thomas Tomlynson.
John Sperke.
Robert Dnckyngton.
Richard Hills.
Richard WhethiU.
Robert Rose.
John OUyfe.
John God.
Thomas Browne.
Jerrard Gore.

The first High Master appointed for the School, was Richard
Mulcaster, M.A. of Christ Church, Oxford, a man highly distin-
guished alike for his proficiency in Greek and Latin, and for his
knowledge in Oriental literature. Such was his reputation at
this time, that he had no sooner entered on the duties of his
office, than pupils poured in from all quarters to profit by his
instruction ; and when the new establishment underwent the
first annual visitation of the diocesan, Grindall, Bishop of Lon-
don, and other learned men, Mulcaster was highly commended
for the efficiency of the School.

The visitations of after years were not less gratifying to the
founders, the patrons, and the High Master. In 1566 an
event occurred which, at a bound, placed Merchant Taylors'
School on a level with the first public seminaries of the king-
dom. This was the princely benefaction of Sir Thomas White^
a member of the Company, and co-founder of the School, who
having recently founded St John's College, Oxford, now came
forward and munificently appropriated forty-three Fellowships
at that College to the Scholars of Merchant Taylors'. *^

With such lucrative prizes at command the School rapidly
increased in popularity. The stipulated number of pupils was
soon complete, and so eager were parents to enter their chil-
dren on a Foundation so fortunate, that Mulcaster was tempted
to open rooms in his own house for the reception of students
beyond the statutable number. This infringement of the rules,

214 The Great Schools of England.

however, drew down upon him the censure of the Company,
and he was compelled to dismiss all supernumerary boys, for
whom vacancies did not occur by a given day.^

In 157 1, the Company of Merchant Taylors became involved
in an angry dispute with the President and Fellows of St. John's
College, Oxford, respecting the non-election of Scholars to
St. John^s. Sir Thomas White, the Founder of the College,
ordained that on St. Bamabas's Day every year, an Election of
Scholars out of Merchant Taylors* School, to fill the vacant
Fellowships at St. John's College, should be made by the Presi-
dent and Fellows of St. John's, jointly with the Master, War-
den, and Assistants of the Company. As no notice had been
taken of the Founder's Ordinance by the authorities of the
College, although three years had elapsed since it was pub-
lished, the Company applied to them peremptorily on the 24th
of September, 1571, to join in an election on the feast of St.

1 Like the Paulines, the Merchant Taylors* scholars were trained to enact
plays, interludes, and moralities, and not unfrequently performed before
their sovereign. In 1572, the Queen*s Master of the Revels, charges for
plays at Christmas and Shrove-tide, performed by a company of boys under
Richard Mulcaster, then Master of Merchant Taylors' School. In 1574,
on Candlemas-night, a play called Timodia at the Siege of Thebes, was per-
formed by Mulcaster's children at Hampton Court.

On the Shrove Tuesday of the same year, Perseus and Anthotneris
(Andromeda) were also ** playde by Muncaster's children;*' while in
J575"6» Richard Muncaster received 10/. "for presenting a play before Her
Grace on Shrove Tuesday;" and, in 1582, the Master of the Revels'
accounts contain charges for A Historie of Ariodante and Genucora^ shewed
before Her Majestie on Shroue tuesdaie at nighte, enacted by Mr. Mulcaster's
children."

Towards the latter end of Queen Elizabeth's reign, the increasing power
of the Brownists, or early Puritan party in the city of London, discounte-
nanced and checked these performances, too many of which took place
upon Sunday. " When the bellis tole to the Lectoi*er, the tnimpettes
8 ?und to the stages ; whereat the wicked faction of Rome laugheth for joy
while the godlye weepe for sorrowe. Woe is me ! the playhouses are
pestered when churches are naked ; at the one if is not possible to gett a
place, at the other, voyde seats are plenty." A very few years later, the
custom of allowing schoolboys to perform in these interludes was finally
put an end to.

Merchant Taylori, 215

Barnabas in the next year. After waiting six months, without
receiving any reply to their apphcation, they determined to
send a deputation to Sir William Cordall, Master of the
Rolls, to solicit his interference, as one of the visitors of the
College, on behalf of the School. This had the desired
eflfect An explanation took place. The President and Fellows
of St John's had, it appeared, been deterred from going to
London by apprehension of the expense of travelling, which
the funds of their Society were inadequate to meet. On
hearing this, the Master of the Rolls requested the Company
to defray the necessary charges, until the College could afford
to send up the President and Fellows at their own cost.

The Company cheerfully agreed to do so ; and lest one day
should not afford sufficient time for the ceremony, they ordered
the examination to take place on the day preceding that of the
election.^ Everything being arranged, on the morning of the
loth of June, 1572, Home, Bishop of Winchester ; Nowell,
Dean of St Paul's ; Goodman, Dean of Westminster \ Watts,
Archdeacon of Middlesex ; Young, Rector of St Magnus's ;
Robinson, President, and Russell and Case, Senior Fellows, of
St John's College, Oxford ; the Master, Warden, and Assistants
of the Company, with many visitors, assembled at the School.
The proceedings of the day began by a brief speech, and the de-
livery of some copies of complimentary verses to the assembled
company. This was followed by an eloquent oration addressed
by one of the boys more particularly to his lordship and the
other examiners, which was replied to by the Dean of St, Paul's.
The boys then offered their thanks " to the Founders for their
chaiges, and to the learned men for their paynes," and pre-
sented them with " aboutte a quere of paper in written verses."

The whole assembly then went to the Chapel, and having
been seated in due form, the head Scholars of the School were
presented for examination. The Dean of St. Paul's commenced
the scrutiny by directing the lowest of the Form to declare the
sense and construction of a particular ode in Horace, " which,
from one to another, he prosecuted throughe the whole number

* Wilson's History 0/ Merchant Taylors* School.

2 16 The Great Schools of England.

until the captayn, requiringe diversitee of phrases and varietie
of wordes, and fynally obmyttinge nothinge which might seme
neadfull for the tryall of their leminge in the Latyn tongue."
The Archdeacon of Middlesex then examined the same boys
in Homer, and the Bishop of Winchester tried them in Hebrew.
At dinner the company were joined by Sir William Cordall,
the Master of the Rolls, who, after the repast, very courteously
repaired with the Bishop and his associates to the Chapel, and
heard **a short naracion" and some verses composed in his
honour. It was then determined that two scholars should be
elected the next day, and that the examination should be con-
fined to such four of the competitors as proved " meteste as well
for leaminge, personage, poverty, and years, to be presentlye
preferred to College." The boys chosen, as possessing the
requisite qualifications, were John Thomas, John Rickesmonde,
William Lee, and Thomas Harrison. It now being five o'clock
the assembly was dissolved. Next day the Master, Warden,
and Assistants of the Company, with the President and two
Senior Fellows of St. John's, met in the Chapel, according to
the statutes of Sir Thomas White, for the purpose of electing
the two Scholars, when, after due consideration, they elected
Lee and Rickesmonde to supply two of the vacancies in the
College.^

The first election to the Fellowships of Sir Thomas White's
Foundation having terminated to the apparent satisfaction of
all concerned, the Company anticipated no difficulty in pro-
curing an election the following year ; but, to their great mortifi-
cation, they received a letter fi-om the College, alleging their
poverty and various other reasons for not joining in an election
until the next year. Complaint was again made to the Master
of the Rolls, and by a temperate and judicious award which he
made in March, 1574, the acrimony of the dispute between the
Company and the College was for a period allayed. The quarrel
broke out again with increased violence some time after, and
for many years the relations between the parties were the
reverse of amicable.

^ Wilson's History of Merchant Taylors* School,

I . * T ■ "-mT'^'^i^^^mwrwmrmgmmmtmm^^^mmwmmm

Merchant Taylor^. 217

While the Company and the College were thus at variance,
an incident occurred which threatened serious consequences
to the School. Mulcaster, who had long entertained a repug-
nance to the duties of his office, owing to the inadequacy of its
emoluments, and the refusal of the Company to increase them,
gave formal notice on the 28th of June, 1586, that he should
resign his charge, offering at the same time, if the Court could
not sooner procure a Master to their satisfaction, to continue
at the School another year.^

The difficulty of finding a suitable successor was not so great
as had been expected. In a few months, such was the impor-
tance attached to the High Mastership of Merchant Taylors*
School, a number of highly-qualified men came forward as
candidates for the post. The choice fell upon Henry Wilkin-
son, M.A., who had formerly been Chief Usher. From this
period the School appears to have pursued its course for
many years without any impediments beyond those arising
fi-om the still recurring controversy between the Company and
the authorities of St. John's College. In 1603, however, owing
to the raging of the plague, the School was broken up for some
months. In November, i6o6, the Company, " perceaving that
tyme and experience hath founde that it were fytte to make
some addicion or enlargement of the orders of the Companies'
schooles, and knowing that nothing can contynue without order
and government," appointed a committee to peruse the statutes,
and to prepare such additional regulations as might be thought
necessary. The committee consisted of the Master and War-
dens, Juxon, the late Master, Baron Sotherton, Sir John Swin-
nerton, and other gentlemen, who on the 14th of January in
the next year, submitted the result of their inquiries and deli-
berations. The measure recommended was a Probation or
Examination of the School three times a year, which being
moved by Dean Overall and four other doctors of divinity, was
adopted without hesitation.^

* Wilson's History of Merchant Taylor^ School,

> ^ At a court of assistants, holden at Marchauntailors hall, upon Wed-
nesday, the xiiii day of January, anno dmi. 1606-7, Annoque, &c. Jacob!

2 1 8 The Great Schools of England,

About a year after the establishment of the Probation, it was
for the better satisfaction of the Masters, Wardens, and Court

Anglian, &c. quarto et Scotie quadragessimo, it was with a general! assent
concluded and agreed, that these orders following, concerning a probation
of the companies grammer schoole in London, three severall tymes in the
yere shalbe duly observed, for the reasons therein mencioned. Which orders
were devised for the great good of the schoole, by learned men at the
prosecucon, and by the greate paynes and care of Mr. Robert Dow, a grave
maister and liberall benefactor to this company, and after confirmed and
allowed, as very good and necessary by the most grave and learned men,
whose names are subscribed to the same.

*'The Marchaunt-tailors schoole in London, was founded at the companies
charge, nowe iforty-fyve yeres past, and by them mainteyned with pencions
to a maister and three ushers, and other charges yerely, to their contynuall
burden and cost, and being scituat neere the middest of this honorable and
renowned citty (the eye of this kingdom), is famous throughout all England,
and also in some remote places beyond the seas well spoken of, and that
for these three consideracons, viz. : —

" Ffirst, for number of schoUers, it is the greatest schoole included under
one roofe.

" Secondly, the schollers are taught iointly by one mr and three
ushers.

" Thirdly, it is a schoole for liberty most free, being open especially for
poore mens children, as well of all nations, as for the marchauntailors
themselves.

'* And whereas it hath fallen out of late dales, that some persons (having
had their children five or six yeres in our schoole) have complained that their
sonnes have not risen in leamyng, to be worthely placed in the highest
formes, as others have ben of like contynuance, it is to be thought that such
a complaynt of the schoole- maister and ushers is noe novelty, or that it
should (as they report) proceede comonly of the maisters default ; but
rather rise by faults in such parents, as have not due regard in houlding their
children to the schoole, or by want of capacity in such schollers, or by other
defects, rather then by any negligence in their teachers. But, howsoever
it be, the company greatly disliketh any evill report of their schoole or
teachers, and doe rather wish and desire all good deservings and good reports
both of the maister and schoole. And thereupon, and to that end and
purpose, they have spent their labor and industry, with the help and advice
of some learned men, to devise a PROBATION for reformation, and better
triall of the state of the schoole hereafter, and this regard being had, the
more care is to be required that this probation and triall be handled with
such a faithful! circumspeccon as the company ((founders of this schoole)
understanding from tyme to tyme how every forme in their schoole pro-

!f^^^^«^7""*^^H9«P«BHB9^HQIK!HHWH|

Merchant Taylor^, 219

of Assistants of the Merchant Taylors' Company, proposed
and determined that the Probation itself should be examined

ceedeth and groweth in knowledg and exercises, may receave their just
and due contentment, and parents and friends of children may have their
full, or at least convenient satisfaccon, and the credit of the teachers, with
the fame of the schoole, preserved. It is therefore concluded that these
good orders hereafter following shall, by the maister and three ushers, be
duly and truly observed : —

" I. A probacon of the whole schoole shall bee made onely by the
master of die schoole and the three ushers, and at these three tymes, viz.
the first on the eleaventh day of March ; the second on the eleaventh day
of September ; the third on the eleaventh day of December ; not being
Sundaies. And if anie of the said dales happen on the Sunday, then upon
the next day following.

"2. The mr of the schoole, eight or nine daies before the said pro*
bacon-day, shall admonish all the schoUers of the school, as well them that
bee absent, by messengers, as them that be present, by himself: 6rst, that
they prepare all such necessaries as are required on the probacon-day ;
secondly, that they com to the schoole, on the said probacon-day, in the
morning, at half an houre after six of the clock at the furthest, and so to
continue till an eleaven ; and in the aftemoone, likewise, at half an hour
after twelve, and to contynue till five.

** 3. The mr of the schoole, the day before th^ probacon-day, shall see
that every scholler in the schoole bee furnished with paper,* pennes, and
ynck, for the next daies exercise ; and also that every ones name, his age,
the day, moneth, and yeare of his coming first to school, bee written with
his own hand on the outside uf his paper, or paper-book, or on the topp
of his first page.

"4. The mr of the schoole shall propound to every form in the schoole,
for fowre howres in the forenoone, and as manie in the aftemoone of the
probation-day, several exercises to bee done in writeing by every one of
them within the sett-tyme hereafter mentioned.

** 5. The mr of the schoole, and the three ushers (while the schollers
are doing their work, and dureing the prescnbed time,) shall carefully, and
with a watchfull eye, provide, that no scholler of anie forme do prompt or
once lean towards his fellow for help, that the founders may the better
know how they proceed, by doing of their own act and exercise, without
any help.

**6. The mr of the schoole and the three ushers at th* end of every
howre (dureing the whole day), shall see that every empty space, and also
the last line of every exercise, bee crossed, that afterwards there may bee
no adding of anie thing, but that the work of every boy doe stand to bee
viewed hereafter as hee of himself did perfom it in that sett-time ; and that

!■ W<

2 20 The Great Schools of England,

twice in the year by two learned men. And this check is still
adopted.

the forenoon's worke bhall be alwaies taken from the scholars at their going
away by the ushers, and delivered to the mr, wch at one a clock shall
be delivered to them again to write the rest of their taske.

** 7. The mr of the Rchoole shall not propound to anie forme the same
dialogue, epistle, theme, sentence, or verse, twice in one yeare.

" 8. No schoUer of any forme shall bee urged to write more of the taske
prescribed within the lymitted howre than hee is well able to perform.

''9. If any schoUer shalbee found on three several probation-daies either
by his owne negligence, or his friends will, to bee absent from the school ;
or having been p'sent, by his over- slender and weak exercises, to be unapt ed
and unmeet to learn, or els a non-proficient, that then everie such scholar,
that soe shalbe found absent, unapt or not competently profiting, shalbee
(according to the companie^s order, heretofore provided In the like behalf^)
dismissed the school.

" 10. The mr of the schoole, receaving all the schoUers exercises done
by them on the said probation-day, shall cause everie formes papers of
exercises to bee sowed together into six several volumes or bookes, every
forme apart by itself, and afterwards lay them up in some convenient place
appointed thereunto. And hee shall not in anie Mnse diminish any one
of them, that the succeeding posterity, as well of the company as of the
schoole, by comparing their present exercises with them of former tymes,
may see how much and wherein they exceed or come behinde them.

"II. The mr of the schoole, within fowre daies after the said pro*
bacon-day shall enter into a booke, called THE REGISTER OF THE
SCHOOLE'S PROBATION, conteining 400 leaves of large paper, in
forme of a brief table or callender : Ffirst, that the said tryalls were per-
formed the xith day of that present moneth according to the orders pre-
scribed ; Secondly, all the schollers of the six formes, every form by itself
in this order, viz. the name of every boy as hee sitteth in his forme, his age,
and time of continuance ; next, what books and how far in them hee hath
read ; lastly, what exercises hee usually makes, with the school-master and
three ushers own hands subscribed thereunto : wch table or kalendar thus
entered into the said register the mr of the schoole, accompanied with
one of his ushers, shal shewe to the mr and wardens at their hall upon
the first or second ordynarie court-day, next after following (the day of
probacon being past fowre daies before), to th' end that, yf they so please,
they may appoint some persons to repaire to the schoole, to take knowledge
and view of the exercises done by every boy on the said probacon-day ;
and also that they themselves, or some other for them, may presently, or
after when they think best, compare the last things registred with the
like things registred at former probacons, to see every boye*s contynuance

Merchant Taylors'. 221

A few months after the introduction of the revised rules,
King James I. was pleased to intimate his intention of dining
with the Merchant Taylors at their Hall on the day appointed
for the election of the Master and Warden. The Company were
very desirous that the School should figure on this august
occasion. Accordingly, Buckeridge, the President of St. John's
College, was appointed to preach the sermon, and some of the

either in any fonne, or in the schoole, and other like circumstances there
mentioned. And the mr and wardens, or som one of them shall subscribe
to the register so brought and confirmed under the schoole-mr and ushers
hands ; and also cause to bee entred into their court-book the day on wch
the said mr of the schoole, with one of his ushers, came and presented the
saoie, for testimony to the company as well of the said dutiful! p'sentment,
as abo of their care towards the schoole, and desire they have to know how
their sch oilers doe proceede; and even then shall bee given to the said
master of the schoole xxvlr. viii^. by the name of a reward to bee distributed
equally (for considerations in the giver), to himself, and his three ushers,
vLr. y\\\d. to each of them for their good care and pains taken in the pre-
misses, and their further encouragement, PROVIDED alwaies herein, that
nppon any fraudulent dealing in the master 'of the schoole, or the three
nshers, the aforesaid reward shall cease, and the blame and shame shall
rest with them for their wilfull default

''12. It is thought meete that this probation of the 'whole schoole shalbee
committed unto the honest and faithfuU trust and disposition of the mr
of the schoole and the three ushers alone, without any association, for
these three causes : Ffirst, the ffounders have good experience of their faith-
full govemement and assured confidence of their care of this trust reposed
uppon them. Secondly, this triall of the schoUers being made by an act
onely in writeing, it is without doubt that strange assembly will but hinder
them in their said exercises. Thirdly, the watchfull eye of the mr and the 3
ushers onely, wilbee sufficient to make the boyes the more serious and
earnest in their work, and cause every boye*s act to bee entirely his owne
worke, without any help ; whereas, yf further assembly were, this pro-
bacon could not by the mr and the three ushers bee so carefully attended,
neither the schoUers worke be so heedefully and dutifully intended and done
by them as it should.

"13. These orders, with the exercises following, shall)ee written in the
booke of the schoole's probacon ; and shalbe, by the mr of the schoole,
read and made knowne unto the three ushers on the first or second day of
the aforesaid monethes, March, September, and December.*'

Then follows a description of the exercises appointed to be done by every
form, in the forenoon and afternoon of each Probation Day.

/

222 The Great Schools of England,

boys were to be trained to welcome the royal party with speeches
and verses. Unfortunately for this arrangement, some one at
Court, who probably knew what would be most agreeable to
the king and queen, recommended the employment of Ben
Jonson to produce an entertainment with '^ musique and other
inventions," which was agreed to.^

The eminence which the School had attained by the early
part of the seventeenth century, encouraged several benevolent
and opulent citizens to augment the number of its Exhibitions.

I There is some reason for thinking that this festival, which took place
soon after the detection of the Gunpowder Plot, and at which John Bull,
Mus, Doc, presided at the organ, was the occasion when the earliest version
of God Save the King was first sung publicly.

Of the entertainment itself (not included in Jonson's published works),

the Company's chroniclers have left us a particular description : —

/ "At the upper end of the Hall there was set a chair of estate, where His

( ^ Majestic sat and viewed the Hall ; and a very proper child, well spoken,

being clothed like an angel of gladness, with a taper of frankincense burning

in his hand, delivered a short speech, cont£uning 1 8 verses, devised by

' Mr. Ben Jonson, which pleased His Majestic marvellously well," &c.

"SolTell, Indeed, was King James pleased with this rich banquet, and the
accompanyment of **a purse of gold presented to him by the Maister,"
that on the Clerk of the Company offering him ** a roll, wherein was
registered the names of seaven kings, one Queene, seaventeene Princes and
Dukes, two Duchesses, one Archbyshoppe, one-and- thirty e Earls, five
Countesses, one Viscount, fourteene Byshoppes, sixty-and-sixe Barons, two
Ladies, seaven Abbots, seaven Priors, and one Sub-Prior, omitting a great
number of Knights, Esquires, &c., who hadde beene free of that Companie,
his Majestic very gratiously accepted it and sayed, * that he himself was
free of another Companie, yet he would so much grace the Companie of
Merchant-Taylors, that the Prince his eldest sonne should be free thereof,
and that he would see and bee a witnesse when the garlande shoulde bee
put on his head.'" The Prince, accordingly, with upwards of twenty of
the principal noblemen, English and foreign, who accompanied him, were
made free that evening of the ancient and renowned fraternity. On the 4th
January, 16 1 3-1 4, the city gave a banquet to the King in honour of the ill-
fated nuptials of the Earl and Countess of Somerset, "and because the
Lord Maiors house is not held spacious enough to receive so great a trayne
as is expected will attend the King, therefore it is agreed and so ordered
that the Merchant Taylors Hall shall be prepared and made ready against
that night for this solemnitie."

Merchant Taylor^, 223

Of these the most conspicuous are Walter Ffysshe and John
Vernon, by whose liberality an academical education has been
placed within the reach of many a deserving scholar, whose
pecuniary circumstances would never have enabled him to
live at the University.

'In 1666, on the morning of Sunday, September 2d, a
terrible caTalnity occurred in London, — the Great Fire, which,
in three days only, reduced the greater part ot the City to
ashes. This awful conflagration began in Pudding Lane, a
few streets east of Suffolk Lane, and by the aflemoon of the
first day the pile of ancient buildings devoted to Merchant
Taylors' School was a heap of ruins. Through the foresight
and activity of Mr. Goad, the then Master, the books forming
the library of the School were all preserved, and in a few
weeks, owing to this gentleman's high sense of duty, the
business of tuition was carried on in a building temporarily
engaged for the purpose. Although the Company took imme-
diate steps for obtaining an estimate of the cost of re-building
the School, yet such was the disastrous effect of the fire upon
every description of business in London, that nearly ten years
elapsed before the new building, which gradually rose upon the
ruins of the old one, was completed.

The subsequent history of the School is unmarked by any
event of public interest. Its career has thenceforth been
uniformly prosperous, and it now ranks as one of the first
educational institutions in the kingdom.

The Buildings^ erected in 1675, consisted of a long and
spacious school-room, supported on the east side by a
number of stone pillars, forming a handsome cloister. Ad-
joining to the School was the Library, and contiguous to these
buildings was a large house appropriated to the Master. The
premises are now divided into a commodious Upper School-
room ; two writing-rooms, formed in 1829, out of apartments
previously occupied by the Under Masters, and a portion of
the cloister ; a class-room for the Head Master ; a class-room
for the Head Master's Assistant, formerly used as a day-room
for the Head Master's boarders; a common-room for the

224 'I^ Great Schools of England,

Under Masters; two class-rooms, one for the first Under
Master, and one for teaching French ; and a library, standing
on the site of the Ducal Chapel, where the boys are entered
and where the examinations take place.

The Merchant Taylors* Company having lately expended
20,000/. in the purchase of premises abutting on the School,
we may look forward at no very distant date to a great im-
provement both in the convenience and appearance of the
edifice. It is to be hoped that in any alterations they may
make, the tendency to Mediasvalism in the construction of
School buildings will be avoided. Mediaevalism leant ever-
more to the cloistral ; it favoured gloom and shut out the
sunshine. The eye of a child should not rest on naked and
melancholy walls; it should be gladdened wherever it turns.
Nor is there any reason why in School buildings architectural
beauty should be disregarded. This is an age wherein, what-
ever else has stood still, architecture has made notable
progress, and a fraternity so wealthy as the Merchant Taylors'
Company, should endeavour to render their School as much
an architectural ornament as it has for centuries been a moral
and an intellectual blessing to the Metropolis.

The Library has a fair collection of theological and classical
works chiefly presented by the Company, who devote twenty
guineas annually to its maintenance. It is intended for the
use of the Masters, but boys of the Head Form are permitted
to borrow books from it By the Company's yearly grant and
by presents of books which are made by every new Member
who is elected upon the Court, the Library is now well kept
up. Few works that the young, or, indeed, that the matured
student can require for ordinary purposes are missing from its
shelves. It is under the charge of the Head Master, who
selects the books which are added to it from time to time.
The two highest ranks of the Head Form, the Monitors and
Prompters, have besides good collections of such books as
are wanted for their daily lessons. For works of occasional
requirement they apply to the School Library.
The advantages arising from free access to a copious libraiy

Merchant Taylor^. 225

are so important, that every Public School should provide the
same facilities for its enjoyment which we are told Merchant
Taylors' affords. Nothing so charms or recompenses a
studious boy as a large library. Neither can it be denied
that for progress in scholarship, works of reference of the
most various kinds are indispensable. The library of a great
School should be amply furnished with classical, foreign,
and oriental works. There are particular provinces of litera-
ture, in which England, rich as she is in other departments,
is notoriously deficient. There is not, for instance, in the
English language, a single copious Biographical Dictionaxy,
comparable to the Biographie UniverscUey and other French
works, and if a boy grows interested in biography, in its
widest range, access to the French Biographical Dictionaxy
is absolutely needful To prevent noise and confusion^
there ought to be a reading-room for the Masters, another for
the head boys, aiul a third for boys in the lower forms.

226 77t€ Great Schools of Errand,

CHAPTER II.
STATISTICAL AND MISCELIANEOUS.

I. Foundation, — ^The School, as previously mentioned, was
established by the Merchant Taylors' Company in the year 1 56 1.
At that time Sir Thomas White, the Founder of St. John's
College, Oxford, was an active member of the Court, and he
and others influenced the Company to found the School ; and
it has been generally considered that he held out promises to
the Company to secure to the Scholars important privileges at
his College.

II. Governing Body, — ^The Court of Assistants, comprising
forty members of the Merchant Taylors* Company, are the
Governors and Patrons of the School, and they claim an ab-
solute and exclusive authority over it, even to the extent of
abolishing it altogether if they thought proper so to do. Con-
sidering, however, as the Report of the Public Schools' Com-
mission remarks, that the constituent documents of the School
indicate on the part of the Company at that time an intention
that it should be a permanent Foundation, that considerable
endowments have been bestowed and accepted for the benefit
of the School, and that its present site was in great part, if not
wholly, acquired by money given for the purpose of establishing
a School by an individual member of the Company, it is very
questionable whether they are as free from legal obligation re*
specting it as they believe themselves to be. But as the wisdom
of the Company in governing has, on the whole, been as great
as their munificence in giving, no organic change in the manage-
ment seems desirable. There is no visitor. In the opinion of
the Company there are not, nor were there ever, any Statutes

Merchant Taylor^. 227

in the common acceptation of the term. At the establishment
of the School, they remark, a code of rules and regulations
called '' Statutes/' was drawn up and adopted by the Court,
but of such rules and regulations the greater part have either
become obsolete or have been from time to time annulled or
altered by the Court The School exists, in fact, on the reso-
lutions of the Court, who have full power to make, and have
from time to time made, such orders and rules, either of a
permanent or of a temporary character, as they have considered
expedient

III. Duties and Emoluments of the Masters, — Originally there
was — ^first, a Head Master, sometimes called High Master, or
simply Master of the School ; second, three Ushers or Under
Masters, all of whom had residences provided for them, and
were paid partly by stipend, partly by quarterages from a portion
of the Scholars. The instruction was purely classical, care being
taken, however, that the religious training of the boys should
be attended to both by the Head Master and by the Ushers.

The present staff, appointed and removable solely by the
Court of the Company, consists of the Head Master, Head
Master's Classical Assistant,^ four Under Masters, teaching in
the Classical School, four Mathematical Masters, two Writing
Masters, two French Masters, and one Drawing Master.

The duties of the Head Master are set forth in a paper
delivered to him by the Court on his appointment In accord-
ance with this document he is bound, besides minor duties : —

1. To take the general superintendence of the whole School,
both morning and afternoon, as regards studies and discipline ;
to select the books taught, and grant leaves of absence, &c.

2. To be punctual in his attendance at prayers, and to remain
in the School during the whole period of studies. 3. To teach
his own Form, and occasionally to hear all the other Forms,
one in every week at the least, taking them in his own order
and turn, and to have under his immediate notice from time to
time the religious instruction of the School. 4. To prepare at

^ To this appointment, the Company allow the Head Master to nomi-
nate, but they themselves approve.

Q2

228 The Great Schools of England.

stated intervals a general report as to the studies, place, con-
duct, and merit or demerit of the boys in his own Form, and to
require a similar report from each of the Under-Masters. 5. To
report the number of boys and the general state of the School
after the specified form to the Master and Wardens on the first
Wednesday in every month, &c 6. To answer all inquiries
respecting the School, whether by letter or visit, from strangers,
or the boys' parents and fiiends.

The emoluments of the Masters, as officially known to the
Company, are as follows : —

Head Master (in stipend from the Company and in

fees from the boys) £1000

Head Master's Assistant (wholly from the Company) 200

First Under Master . . p^ .^ ^ ^ ^^ ^^ j 525

Sd?r • • • Company ; partly in fees 3^

Third ditto. ■ . . I from the boys. \ 38o

Fourth ditto . . . / ^ / 280

First Writing and Arithmetic Master % ^180

Second ditto I Wholly i 150

First French Master > from the > 130

Second ditto \ Company. I 50

Drawinc^ Master / / 100

The four Under Masters are Mathematical as well as Classic
cal teachers — the three seniors receiving additional stipends on
that account, which are included in the amounts above specified.
This arrangement, besides doubling their work, must render
the task of performing it to their satbfaction very difficult An
increase of Masters wholly employed in Classical tuition is
manifestly necessary, and as the sum paid for tuition, amount-
ing to ZiZ^Z^' a year, is nearly, if not entirely, covered by the
amount received as fees fi-om the boys, this improvement might
well be eflfected. In addition to their receipts, " officially
known to the Company," the first and second Under Mastere
keep boarding-houses, but these houses are not connected
with the School, nor are they formally recognised by the
Company.

Formerly, when the Head Master resided in the School-house
adjoining the School, he received about twenty boarders, but

Merchant Taylor^. 229

during the eight years that he has lived away from the School
he has not taken any.

Although the Merchant Taylors' Company retain in their
hands the power both of appointing and dismissing the Masters,
as well as a supreme control over the management of the
School, they do not interfere in the latter respect with the
government of the Head Master. ^

IV. Admission^ Course of Studies, — The statutable number of
boys in this School was, we have shown, 250; but as nomina-
tions are always issued in advance, on a calculation of probable
vacancies, a floating 10, more or less, is allowed. The average
number, for the last twenty years, is about 260. On nomina-
tion, a boy must have attained nine years of age, at the least ;
he must be able to read and write tolerably, have learned the
^ Accidence " in the Latin Grammar, and be acquainted with
the leading facts in early Scripture history, and with the
Church Catechism.

If a boy is over eleven years of age, he must be further
qualified to enter upon the Third Form. If over thirteen
years, he must be qualified to enter upon the Upper Division
Form.

These two rules have been recently adopted on the Head
Master's representation of the inexpediency of having boys of
advanced age in the lowest Forms, among very young ones, s.^.^

The course of instruction has, almost from the foundation, \
embraced Hebrew, and Classical Literature, Writing, Arith-
metic : Mathematics were introduced in 1829 ; French, and
Modem History, in 1846 ; Drawing, in 1856 ; and Writing /
from Dictation, in the Lower Forms, in 1857.*

When a boy enters he is placed in a Classical Form, accord-
ing to his age and acquirements, and this determines his rank
in the School. He rises from one Form to another by the
proficiency and industry which he displays during the time he

^ When the lease of those adjacent premises bought by the Company for
the benefit of the School, falls in, which will be in about two years, it is
proposed to enlai^e the course of education by introducing a system of
mercantile tuition. As not one-fourth of the scholars proceed to the Uni-
versity, the present education is evidently not so adapted as it might be to
the great majority of the School.

230

Th€ GrMt Schools of England.

has been in his Form (facts ascertained by daily marks, which
are averaged), and by the way in which he acquits himself
both on paper and in vivd voce, at the half-yearly examinations.
In this manner he proceeds from the First Form, through the
Second, Third, Lower Division, Upper Division, Fourth,
Lower Fifth, and Upper Fifth Forms, to the Sixth Form. From
the Sixth to the Head Form boys rise, as vacancies occur, by
the display of proficiency in their half-yearly examinations.

Classics are taught in the Morning School only, from 9.1$
A.M. to r P.M., and French is taught in the Morning School
also. Two French Masters attend every day from 1 1 a.m. to
I P.M., and receive classes made up of the Classical Forms.
The Arithmetic, Writing, and Mathematical Classes are totally
distinct from the Classical Forms. These subjects are taught
in the Afternoon School, for the instruction of which there are
two Arithmetic and four Mathematical Masters from 2 p.m.
to 3.45 P.M. The same boys who in the morning were arranged
in ten Forms, according to their Classical proficiency, are in
the afternoon ranged with absolute disregard of their morning
position, in four Arithmetic Classes, and seven Mathematical
Classes, and the nomenclature is entirely different, ex. gr. —

Clanical or Moraing School

Head Fonn .....

Sixth Form

Upper Fifth Form . . .
Lower Fifth „ ...

Fourth Form

Upper Divbion ....
Lower Division ....

Third Form

Second Form

First Form

Mathematical and Arithmetic
or Afternoon School.

Head Class, Sect. I

Sect. 2

Sect. 3

Sect 4

2d

3d

4th

5th

6th

7th

ft
If
ff
»f

>f

•f

If

ff

tf

ff

1st Class
2d

3ci
4th

f f

ft

f f

Division i
Division 2

Arith-
metic
and
Writing.

if

130 boys.

262

132 boys.
262 bojrs.

Merchant Taylors\ 231

Hebrew is studied in the Head and Sixth Forms^ and is
fostered by an examination at Christmas, and by Sir Moses
Montefiore's Hebrew Medal, and the Head Master's Prize, in
June.

Engiish Literature^ History^ and Geography^ Ancient and
Modem, are encouraged in the Head and Sixth Forms, by
translations into English prose and verse, by essays on various
subjects, by comments and illustrations supplied by the Masters,
by the selection every year of a special portion of English
History to be brought up at June, and by the fact that one of
the four chief Prizes is devoted mainly to History.

Drawing and Music, — Drawing is taught in the School to
the boys of the Head, Second, Third, and Fourth Mathematical
Classes, but no provision is made for teaching Music, vocal or
instrumental.

The two Classical Examinations, called ProhationSy are held
in the course of the School year, which goes from June to June.
At Christmas, the boys answer questions and do other work on
paper, under the superintendence of the Head Master and
Under Masters, which are submitted to the Examiners, The
Examiners also try all the boys vivd voce. The results of the
two processes are reduced to marks, and compared with each
boy's average place in the half-year. A list of comparative
merit is thus drawn up ; one boy's name is printed in capitals,
as worthy of a prize, others in italics^ as deserving honourable
mention ; and the remainder ordinary type.

At the June Probation, the Head Master conducts an Ex-
amination of the Forms from the Upper Fifth to the First,
instead of the Classical Examiners ; but relative merit is ascer-
tained, prizes assigned, and the Remove awarded, as it is at
Christmas.

As in the Classical, so in the Mathematical School, a formal
Examination on paper is conducted by an Examiner twice a
year, in March and October. After each Examination a list is
issued. In this list the order in each class is the order of
general merit, and results from compounding the marks as-
signed by the Examiner with those of the half-year's work.

232 Jlie Great Schools of England.

The names of Scholars entitled to prizes are printed in capitals;
those deserving of honourable notice for work during the half-
year are printed in italics.

In French also there is an Examination, on paper and
viva voccy by a special Examiner, at Christmas, when die boys
in each Class are arranged, and their merit determined by
numbers representing the combined result of their half-year's
work, and the proficiency they exhibit at the Examination ;
in June the marks gained in the six months are added up^ and
the boys are placed accordingly.

The number of boys now in each Classical Form is, —

Head Fonn, i,e, Monitore (8]» Prompters (8), and

Upper Sixth (7) 23

Sixth Form 26

Upper Fifth Fonn 31

Lower Fifth Form 18

Fourth Form 23

Upper Divifion Form 25

Lower Division Form 32

Third Form 30

Second Form 27

First Form 27

262

The number of boys in each Mathematical Class is, —

Head Class, ist Section 2

„ 2d Section 3

„ 3d Section 5

„ 4th Section 10

Second Class 10

Third Class 12

Fourth Class 1 1

Fifth Class 14

Sixth Class 20.

Seventh Class, ist Division 27

,, 2nd Division 16

• 130

Merchant Taylors', 233

The number of boys in each French Class is, —

Class of Monitors, Prompters, and Upper Sixth . . 23

Class of Sixth Form 26

Class of Upper Fifth Form 31

Class of Lower Fifth and Fourth Forms .... 41

Class of Upper Division Form 25

Class of Lower Division Form ,.32

Boys do not commence French until they have reached
the Lower Division Form. The three Forms lowest in the
Classical School, viz. the Third, Second, and First Forms, do
not learn French. They contain at present, —

84 boys ;
178 leaming French.

The number of boys, in each Arithmetic Class is (Oct.
1861),—

ist Class ...... tS^ \

ad Class . . . . 29 /

3d Class . . . 34 M32 Writing and Arithmetic.

4th Class . . . . 41 /
Add Math, boys . 130

262

The number of boys in each Drawing Class is, —

Head Class . . . 20 \ Corresponding to and comprising

Second Class « . . 10 / the same boys as the Mathe-

Third Class . . • I2i matical Classes, Head, Second,

Fonrth Class . . .11) Third, and Fourth.

53

The scheme of tuition, so far as it goes, at Merchant Taylors'
School is admitted to have worked exceedingly well. It ap-
pears, however, that while in the Classical Department the
amount of translation is large, the amount of original compo-
sition is very small. This can easily be remedied. A diminu-

234 The Great Schools of England,

tion of the time devoted to mathematics would also be an
improvement. The time so won might well be spent on
German, to the introduction of which, among the regular studies
of the School, the present able Head Master, Dr. Hessey, is
favourably disposed, or to Physical Science — the absence of
which in a School where five afternoons in the week are devoted
to Mathematics is remarkable. It should be remembered that
Mathematics derive half their worth and all their grandeur from
their application to science.

By teaching Hebrew, Merchant Taylors' contrasts advan-
tageously with some of the other great Schools. England is
the only Christian country where an accurate and ample know-
ledge of Hebrew is not considered indispensable to every
clergyman, and as many of those studying at these Schools are
intended to be clergymen, Hebrew should enter into the cur-
riculum of them all.

Exhibitions^ Scholarships^ Prizes. — The existing Scholar-
ships, &c. established in connexion with Merchant Taylors'
School, in number and in value, are hardly surpassed by any
School in England. At an early stage of its history, Sir
Thomas White, it has been mentioned, attached to this insti-
tution no less than forty-three out of the fifty fellowships in
his College of St John's, Oxford. Under this endowment,
boys elected from this School to St John's were Probationary
Fellows for three * years, and then, if found duly qualified in
scholarship and behaviour, were admitted Fellows for life.
This princely benefaction came into full operation in 1575,
from which time to the present it has assisted on the way to
University and other eminence a large number of distinguished
men. By an ordinance of Privy Council in i86i, this portion of
the School preferment was considerably modified in character,
as the preferment of Westminster School had already been.
Henceforth all the Fellowships at St John's, which are to be
reduced to eighteen, are to be absolutely open, the remainder
of the College funds being devoted to the maintenance of
twenty-one Merchant Taylors' Scholars, seven Scholars from
other Schools, five open Scholars, and the fulfilment of other

Merchant Taylori, 235

contingent obligations. The preferments attached to the School
are as follow : —

1. Twenty-one Scholarships to St John's College, Oxford.
When the ordinance above spoken of comes into thorough
operation, these Scholarships, of which three will be filled up
annually, will be 100/. a year each, aud tenable for seven years.

2. Six Exhibitions to St John's College, Oxford, in value
60/. per annum each, founded by Dr. Andrew. These may
be held for twelve years, but are vacated on marriage, re-
ceiving Holy Orders, or engaging in any employment incom-
patible with the practice of the Civil Law. Candidates must
not be under sixteen years of age, and must have been at
least four years in the School.

3. One Exhibition at St John's College, Oxford, of 50/.
a year, founded by Dr. Stuart. The nomination is by the
President of St John's and the Head Master of the School ;
but the senior Scholar, if of suitable attainment and character,
and superannuated, is considered to have the option of this
Exhibition. He must, however, have been at least five years
at the School, and at the time of his leaving must have
attained the Head Form. This Exhibition is tenable during
residence for a period of eight years.

4. One Exhibition to any College in Cambridge, also
founded by Dr. Stuart It is tenable for four years, is worth
6 1/. t IS, 4i/. per annum, and is filled up on the same conditions
as the preceding.

5. Four Exhibitions of 50/. a year each, to any College
in Cambridge. These were originally founded by Charles
Parkin, the historian of Norfolk. One is awarded eveiy year
to the best Mathematician about to leave for Cambridge, and
is tenable for four years.

6. Two Exhibitions, of 50/. per annum each, to any College
at Oxford or Cambridge, were founded by the company in 1844
and 1846. They are tenable for five years, are filled up by
the Court as vacancies occur, and are sometimes awarded to
Scholars who have proceeded to the University.

7. The School Exhibition, of 63/. a year, to St. John's

236 27tf Great Schools of England.

•

College, Oxford, founded by contributions from old Scholars
of Merchant Taylors'. This is tenable for four years ; but it
cannot be held with either No. x, No. 2, No. 3, or No. 4.

8. Two Tercentenary Scholarships, founded in 1861, by old
Scholars of Merchant Taylors', aided by the boys then in
School. The yearly value of each is about 30/.; they are
tenable for two years, and the successful competitor for a
Scholarship is on each occasion considered the Tercentenary
Scholar for the year in which he is elected.

9. The Company's Tercentenary Scholarships, the nature
and tenure of which are not finally determined.

la Two of 30/. a year each, founded by the Pitt Club in
1845, tenable for four years at any College of either University.

II — 14. Five Exhibitions of 25/. a year each, founded by
Mr. Fish — four founded by Mr. Vernon, and one by Mr.
WooUer, of 10/. each, at St. John's College, Oxford, and a
gift by Mr. Juxon of 1 2/. to a Scholar at Oxford and Cambridge
alternately, for the purchase of books.

We have here a string of more than fifty Scholarships,
producing annually above 3,000/. or about 60/. a year each on
an average, several of which may be held together. What
noble incentives to emulation in a school not exceeding 260
pupils! And these by no means exhaust the benefactions.
There are three Medical Exhibitions to St. Thomas's Hospital,
worth 30/. a year each, founded by the Court of the Com-
pany and the authorities of the hospital conjointly; each
Exhibition being tenable for three years, and one awarded
every year. The Court of the Company occasionally also
award special Exhibitions to deserving students at the Uni-
versity. Two such— of 40/. a year each — ^were granted for
four years in 1859. Gifts of books also are frequently bestowed
on Scholars who have acquitted themselves meritoriously at
College.

Besides these inducements to exertion, the benefit of which
is felt after the recipients leave School, prizes on a corre-
sponding scale of liberality are every year bestowed during
the time of continuance in it Among these are 50 guineas

Merchant Taylor^, 237

given by the Company to the various departments of the
School ; the Montefiore Hebrew Medal ; a prize of 3 guineas
given by the Head Master for Hebrew ; one of 3/. 45. by
Mr. W. Gilpin for good conduct; one of 6/. founded by
Sir James Tyler, for knowledge of English history; a prize
of 3/. for the second best boy in English history, founded
by Mr. C. Rickards ; and one of 6/. instituted by Mr. A. S.
Pigeon and Mr. T. B. Pugh, Wardens of the Company, for
proficiency in studies relating to mercantile pursuits.

The Monitorial System; and Fagging, — At Merchant Taylors'
School, the Monitorial System bears a somewhat mitigated
sway. The Monitors, as part of their duty, look over some of
the exercises, and hear the parts of the third rank of the Head
Form, which is called the Upper Sixth, but their remarks and
corrections are always revised by the Head Master, and they
only look over exercises, their own performance of which has
already come under the Head Master's eye. The Head Master
approves of this plan, and there can be no serious objection
to it except in so far as it takes the boys so promoted away
from their own studies, since they cannot be both teaching and
learning at the same time. Being in the main a Day School,
Fagging, fortunately, has no opportunity of being exercised at
Merchant Taylors*.

Punishments, — Of the temper in which Scholastic punish-
ment was formerly administered, something has been said in
the Account of St Paul's School, and a passage is there cited
from Erasmus to show how universal was the practice of flog-
ging among the pedagogues of his age ; but the severity
denounced by Erasmus is nothing compared to the barbarities
described by one Ravisius Textor, who in the early part of the
sixteenth century was Rector of the University of Paris. He
is said to have been a person of considerable erudition, but
though a right-minded, good-natured man, by no means inclined
to err on the side of indulgence. This is proved, indeed, by a
passage in one of his epistles, where he speaks as follows con-
cerning the treatment of boys : — " If they offend, if they are
detected in falsehood, if they slip from the yoke, if they murmur

>

238 The Great Schools of England.

against it, or complain in ever so little a degree, let them be
most severely whipt, and spare neither the scourge, nor mitigate
the punishment, till the proud heart shall be subdued, and they
shall have become smoother than oil and softer than a pump-
kin." The testimony of a man who thus strongly recommends
the infliction of punishment is entitled to the more weight when
he inveighs against the inhumanities practised upon schoolboys.
In a dialogue between a father and son, Ravisius describes these
atrocities as being carried to such a length as to kill the suf-
ferer; and in one of his poems two schoolmasters are summoned
before Rhadamanthus for judgment ; — the Judge of the Dead
asks ; —

'* Quid prior hie sceleris fecit ?

LACHESIS.

Deforme relatu ;
Afflixit rigidis corpora verberibus.
Hie juvenum scapulas mutilavit et ossa Aagellis,
Elicuit rivos sanguinis ex humeris,
Nee timuit pedibus pueros ealcare tenellos,
Nee croeeam manibus vellere csesariem."

The pedagogue implores mercy; but Rhadamanthus answers: —

" Sceleste,
Audebis veniam quserere ? perge miser !
Claustts in obseura baratri fomace latebis,
Foeda veneniferi membra trahent colubri.
Persephone hune rapias tortorem, ac igne peruras ;
Verbera quae pueris intulit, ipse ferat*'

The other preceptor is sent to Elysium, Rhadamanthus telling
him : —

" tua te in pueros dementia salvum
Reddit."

So far, in fact, was this servile discipline extended, so imprac-
ticable was it deemed to carry on the course of education
without corporal punishment, that Royal pupils were commonly
provided with " whipping-boys," in whom, for any offence or
default of diligence, they were flogged by proxy.

Merchant Tayhrs\ 239

Since the death of Ravisius Textor in 1524, there has been
an immense improvement in regard to punishment, but there is
still room for amelioration.

The punishments at Merchant Taylors' School have little in
them of the old brutal element. Flogging, which the Head
Master has alone the right to inflict, is exceedingly rare ; the
Under Masters employ the cane for inattention and neglect
of lessons, but grave offences are referred to the Head
Master. Occasionally an offender is rebuked by the Head
Master before the whole School. This is found to have a most
salutaiy effect Similar punishments it would no doubt be easy
to multiply.

Sports^ Q^c. — ^The only play-ground is a paved space, called
the CioisteTy in the rear of the School, quite inadequate to the
recreation of so many boys. When the existing leases of the
property, lately purchased by the Company, expire, there will
be room not only for enlarged School buildings, but for a
spacious play-ground also. In the mean time the Company
pay twenty guineas a year for the hire of a suitable ground for
cricket, which is a good deal pursued in suomier. In the
winter the boys have foot-ball and skating clubs; and an
Athletic Sports' Club has been established lately, to which the
Company contribute 10/. annually.

Holidays^ 6-r. — The hours of School attendance are from
9.15 in the morning till i.o, and from 2.0 to 3.45 in the
afternoon ; and, altogether, the boys are in School thirty-nine
weeks in a year. Their holidays consist of a fortnight at Easter,
about six weeks in August and September, and four weeks at
Christmas. There is also a week of recess afler the election
day, June 11. In addition to these vacations the Head Master
is privileged to grant a da/s holiday four times in the year ;
and on the following days there is no school : — ^Anniversary of
the death of Charles I., Ash-Wednesday, Ascension Day, the
Queen's birthday, the Anniversary of the Sons of the Cleigy,
the Anniversary of the Charity Children at St. Paul's, Lord
Mayor's day, and Sir Thomas White's birthday. Saturday is the
only half-holiday during the week.

/
> /

240 The Great Schools of England,

Reiigiotis Instruction, — Especial regard has always been paid
to religious training at Merchant Taylors', although the Masters
are only with the boys officially in School hours. Every
Monday morning is devoted to sacred subjects, including
Hebrew, the Greek and Latin New Testament, Christian
Doctrine, and Scripture History. Prayers — selected from the
Prayer-book — are said in the Large School-room at the begin-
ning and at the close of the morning studies; and at the
commencement and termination of the afternoon studies in
the several Class-rooms.

Boarding Houses, — ^The greater part of the boys reside with
their parents in the suburbs of town, but about eighty live in
boarding houses, of which there are six in the neighbourhood.
Their number in each boarding house at present is : —

In the house of the ist Under Master 10

„ 2d Under Master 6

„ Rev. F, T 22

„ Rev. H. M 4

,, Mr. M 25

„ Mrs. B 10

>i

Mr. B 6

83

The charges for boarding in the first and second Under
Masters' houses are sixty guineas per anntmi. At the other
houses the charges are somewhat lower, and in some of them
vary according to the age of the boys. Parents select a board-
ing house at their own discretion, but they frequently consult
the Head Master on the subject, and he is guided in his advice
by the means of the parents and the age and reported disposition
of the boy.

Boardersy of course, take their mid-day meal at the houses
where they live, and various boys who come from a distance
now dine at those houses also as day-boarders. Several, who
are sons of city merchants, lunch at their fathers* offices. Others
are driven to a sort of pastrycook's shop, kept by the portress
of the School on the premises.

Merchant Taylor^, 241

School Charges and Annual Expenses of a Boy at Merchant
Taylont. — By the original Statutes 100 boys were admitted
wiUiout any payment whatever ; 50 were admitted on payment
of 2s. 2d, to the Head Master every quarter, and the remaining
100 were admitted on paying 5^. per quarter.

In the Present day the School payments of every boy are 3/.
on entrance, and 10/. annually in quarterly sums of 2/. loj.
Each also pays 5^. on being advanced to a higher 1" orm. For
this sum he receives his education, without any additional
charge for tuition of any kind.

243 The Great Schools of En^antL

CHAPTER III.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

Head Masters of Merchant Taylor^ School,
1561. Richard Mulcaster.^ | 1691. Mathew Shortyng.

1586. Heniy Wilkinson.

1592. Edmund Smith.

1599. William Hayne.

1625. Nicholas Gray.

1632. John Edwards.

1634. William Staple.

1644. William Du Gard.

1 66 1. John Goad.

1 68 1. John Haitcliffe.

1686. Ambrose Bonwicke. '

1707. Thomas Paisall.
1720. Matthew Smith.
1731. John Criche.
1760. James Townley.
1778. Thomas Green.
1783. Samuel Bishop.
1795. Thomas Cherry.
1 819. James W. Bellamy.
1845. J&in^ A. Hessey.

The list of eminent men who were indebted to Merchant
Taylors' School for their early mental culture is a proud one.

> This famous scholar and preceptor, who for the long period of twenty-
five years was Head Master of Merchant Taylors', and for twelve years of
St Paul's School, claims more than the mere mention of his name. He is
said to have descended from an opulent and ancient family in Cumberland,
who in the time of WilUam Rufus had the charge of defending the border-
country from the incursions of the Scots. He was educated on the foun-
dation at Eton, from which School, in 1548, he gained his election to
King's College, Cambridge, where, however, he took no degree, but while
a Scholar removed to Oxford.

In 1555 he was elected student of Christ Church, and in the next year
was licensed to proceed in Arts. While' at Oxford he became remarkable
for his critical knowledge of Greek and Latin, but still more so for his
acquirements in oriental literature.

His abilities as a teacher are sufficiently attested by the uninterrupted
prosperity of Merchant Taylors* and St Paul's during his masterships and

Merchant Taylori. 243

Of ecclesiastical dignitaries of the highest rank she can boast,
among others, of the celebrated Willliam Juxon, who was in

the unrivalled list of admirable scholars who owed to him their early
training.

With all his merits, however, Mulcaster was not exempt from the beset-
ting severity of schoolmasters in his day. Fuller, in his quaint fashion, says
of him : — '*In a morning he would exactly and plainly construe and parse
the lesson to his scholars, which done, he slept his hour (custom made him
critical to proportion it) in his desk in the school ; but woe be to the scholar
that slept the while. Awaking, he heard them accurately ; and Atropos
might be persuaded to pity as soon as he to pardon, where he found just
fault. The prayers of cockering mothers prevailed with him just as much
as the requests of indulgent fathers, rather increasing than mitigating his
severity on their offending children."

Like Ascham, he was fond of archery, and was a member of a society of
toxopholites, who called themselves Prince Arthur's Knights. He was
partial, also, to dramatic composition. His name appears twice in the
entries of Queen Elizabeth's paymaster for plays acted before her : —
"March 1 8th, 1573-4, to Richard Mouncaster, for two plays presented
before her on Candlemas-day and Shrove-Tuesday last, 20 marks; and
further for his charges 20 marks."

" nth March, 1575-6, to Richard Mouncaster, for presenting a play
before her on Shrove Tuesday last, 10 poimds.*'

In the representation of Latin plays before Queen Elizabeth and King
James at Oxford, the students of St John^ College acquired great distinc-
tion, which is ascribed to the influence of Mulcaster, their Master at Mer-
chant Taylors' School. He was the author of sundry copies of mythological
verses spoken before Queen Elizabeth, and of two educational treatises.
One of these is entitled, ^^ Positions^ wherein those primitive circumstances
be examined which are necessary for the training up of young children,
either for skill in their book, or healthe in their bodie." The other, " The
First Pari of the Elementarie, which entreateth chefely of the right writing
of the English Tung/' a book which Warton describes as containing many
judicious criticisms and observations on the English language.

Mulcaster appears to have been impetuous in temper, and his impetuosity
frequently brought him into trouble with the Court of Merchant Taylors' ;
but though a choleric, he was evidently not a rancorous man. Many years
after he had retired from the Head Mastership of this School, and notwith-
standing his former disagreements with the Governors, he generally took
part in the School examinations. As this fact is creditable to the placability
of his disposition, another is equally so to his intrepidity. When the
Reformation began, and Religious Houses were dissolved, many immunities
were granted to teachera, in order that learning should be encouraged.

R 2

244 ^^ Great Sduwls rf England.

attendaDce on Charles L when the King was beheaded, and
who at the Restoration was tianslated from the see of London
to that of Canterbmy ; William Dawes and John Gilberx,
Archbishops of York; and Hugh Boulter, Archbishop of
Armagh.
The most conspicuous of her bishops are Lancelot
/ Andrewes,^ Bishop of Winchester, of whom it was said, as

Thejr were freed from taxes and other obligations; bnt in 1581 or 1582, an
envious attempt was made to rob them of their privilege. This attempt
they stiennonsly and sncoesfally opposed, and, as the leader in the renstance,
Mulcaster was by far the most conspicnons and valiant champion of his
order.

After retiring from Merchant Taylors' School in 1586, he was chosen
Upper Master of St PanTs School, where he continned till 1598. Resign-
ing this office, in which he had displayed the same efficiency as in the
previous one, he first obtained the Vicarage of CranbrooMn Kent, and
was then preferred to the Rectory of Stanford Rivers, where he died in
April, 1 610.

1 This illnstrions prelate^ the most eminent divine and scholar of his
own, and, perhaps, of any nation, was bom at London in 1566. By his
extraordinary ability as a preacher he attracted the attention of Queen
Elizabeth, who appointed bdm her chaplain. Upon the death of the qneen
he became the especial favourite of King James ; though Fuller relates that
the king stood so much in awe and veneration of him, that when Bishop
Andrewes was present he refrained from the ccaise mirth and levity
which he ordinarily indulged in. His Majesty having in his Defence of the
Rights of Kings t asserted the authority of Christian princes over ecclesias-
tical causes and persons, was attacked with much bitterness by the learned
Cardinal Bellarmine, under the name of Matthseus Tortus. Andrewes
undertook to refute the book of Bellaimine, and is supposed to have per-
formed the task with remarkable skill and judgment in a quarto work, entitled
Tortura Torti; srve ad Matthin Torti Librum Responsio^ &c. In recom-
pense for this vindication of his book, James promoted Andrewes to the
bishopric of Ely. He was afterwards translated to the see of Winchester,
and created Privy Councillor.

There is a pleasant story told of him while he was Bishop of Winchester.
Waller the poet, going to see the king at dinner, overheard an extraordin&ry
conversation between His Majesty and two prelates, Andrewes and Neale
(Bishop of Durham), who were standing behind the royal chair. "My
Lords,'* asked the king, *' cannot I take my subjects* money when I want
it, without all this formality in Parliament ?" The Bishop of Durham
readily answered, "God forbid, Sir, but you should ; you are the breath

/

Merchant Taylor^. 245

of Claudius Drusus, '^ He possessed as many and as great
virtues as human nature could receive, or industry perfect;"
Thomas Dove, Bishop of Peterborough, chaplain to Queen
Elizabeth, who, from his flowing white locks, called him
" the Dove with silver wings ;" Matthew Wren,^ the learned
Bishop of Ely; John Buckeredge, also of Ely; Giles
Thompson, Bishop of Gloucester, and Peter Mews,^ Bishop

/ of our nostrils." Whereupon the king tamed and said to the Bishop of
Winchester, " Well, my Lord, what say you ? " " Sir," replied he, ** I have
no skill to judge of parliamentary cases." The king quickly rejoined, '* No
put-oiTs, my Lord; answer me at once." "Then, Sir," said he, '* I think
it quite lawful for you to take my brother Neale's money, for he offers it"
Waller reports that the company were well pleased with the answer, and the
wit of it seemed to affect the King.

Andrewes wrote A Manual of Private Devotions^ and A Manual of
Directions for the Visitation of the Sick, which were printed during his
life. The remainder of his works, consisting chiefly of theological treatises
and sermons, were published after his death by the command of the king.
His books are reproached with the pedantry common in his time ; but the
high opinion which Milton entertained of Andrewes, and the eloquent
sincerity with which he deplored his death, ought to draw more attention to
works which are now seldom looked at, except as curiosities by the solitary,
student

^ Wiren accompanied Prince Charles, afterwards Charles I. to Spain,
in 1623, and whatever stability that ill-fated prince displayed in his attach-
ment to the Protestant religion subsequently is thought to be due to this
excellent monitor. Wren was elected Master of Peter House, Cambridge,
to the rebuilding and library of which ancient college he bountifully con-
tributed. He moreover erected at his own cost the chapel of Pembroke
Collie, where he had received his university education, and left an estate
to keep it in repair.

It is painful to add of such a man that, during the civil troubles^ in
1641, he was impeached of high crimes and misdemeanours, and, though
never brought to trial, imprisoned in the Tower for eighteen years !
Cromwell would have released him, but the courageous old prelate dis-
dained even the semblance of submission, and did not regain his freedom
until the Restoration.

« In the early part of his career, Peter Mews suffered much for his
loyalty. Having taken up arms for the king at Oxford, he was expelled
the University ; and when the royal cause declined, sought shelter in
Flanders, where he served under the Duke of York, and acquired con-
siderable reputation. He may be said, then, in more cases than one, to

246 T7u Great Schools cf En^and.

of Winchester. In Law, in Letteis, in Medicine, and in
other departments of intelligence, the School is nobly repre-
sented by such men as Sir James Whit£LOCK£, Justice of the
Common Pleas, and of the King's Bench ; Bulstrode Whixe-
LOCKE,* his son, the author of ihit Memorials o/Engiish Affairs
from the Beginning of the Reign of Charles First to the Restora-

have belonged to the Church militant. Bat in England during the seven-
teenth century the Church militant too often became the Church political,
whereby religion as a pure and holy influence lost its empire. Men like
Mews from pious prelates d^;cnerated into violent partisans, in spite of
their better feelings. We may not utterly condemn them, but we cannot
help lamenting that they should have suflered exaggerated loyalty to pre-
dominate over Christian charity.

1 Bulstrode Whitelock, as the son of a learned and distinguished judge,
enjoyed the advantages of a good education and high social standing. After
passing creditably through Merchant Taylors* School, he, in 1620^ entered
at St John's CoU^fe, Oxford, then under the presidency of Land, his
father's old friend. From Laud he received many kindnesses, the recol-
lection of which induced him in after life to refuse to act upon the Parlia-
mentary committee by whom the Archbishop was impeached. In 1637,
Whitelock earned much popularity by supporting his kinsman, Hampden,
in his redstance to the ill^al imposition of ship money. A few years later
he was chosen a member of the Long Pariiament, and elected chairman of
the committee who drew up the charges against Lord Strafford. When
civil war broke out, he commanded a company in Hampden's raiment,
and took military possession of Oxford for the Parliament In 1644, he was
appointed one of the conunissioners to negotiate a peace, and had frequent
conferences with the king. The fascinations of the monarch appear to
have induced some slackness in Whitelocke's discharge of his official duties,
and he had no little difficulty in vindicating himself from the impu-
tations of remissness in the transaction. With the king's trial he resolved
not to meddle ; but when all was over, and the axe had fidlen, he took
office as first commissioner of the Great Seal of the Republic

In 1653, Cromwell, probaby to be rid of him for a time, appointed
Whitelocke ambassador to the pedantic, clever, coarse, and eccentric
v/ Christina, Queen of Sweden, who made him a knight of the order of the
" Amaranth."

At the Restoration, in the bringing about of which he was by many believed
to have been instrumental, he withdrew from public life, and, acting on
the advice of the king, to *' go live quietly in the country and take care of
his wife and one-and-thirty children " (he had but sixteen) he retired from
London, and died in 1675.

c

Merchant Taylor^. 247

Hon; Thomas Lodge ;^ Edmund Gayton ;* Sir Edwin Sandys,
the traveller, and the author of Europa Speculum; James

1 Lodge, whose versatility and ubiquity have led to the belief that there
were two writers, contemporaries, of the same name, came of an ancient
family in Lincolnshire. He entered Oxford (according to Wood) about
1573, and there became noted for his metrical predilections. After taking
his d^rree, he went to London, where he exercised his poetic ability so
effectively as to be esteemed, says the author just named, ''the best for
satire among Englishmen." He subsequently studied medicine, and re-
sided at Avignon, at which place he took his doctor's degree. Upon his
return to London, he practised as a physician with good success, especially
among the Roman Catholics. He was the author of several dramatic
works of merit, the most important being The Looking-Glass for London^
an historical comedy, published in 1598; The Wounds 0/ Civil IVar, &c
(1594) ; and A Fig for Momus ; but he is now chiefly remembered as the
writer of a novel, entitled Rosalynde^ Euphues Golden Legacy , &c., which
Shakespeare has immortalised by adopting it as the foundation of his
charming comedy, As You Like Itm It was to Lodge and his companion
playrights, Marlowe and Peele, that the unhappy Greene, just before his
I death, addressed the well-known admonition, of which one passage is sup-
/ posed to refer to Shakespeare, — " There is an upstart crowe beautified with
j our feathersy that with his Ingres hart wrapt in a players hyde^ supposes hee
I is as weU able to bombast out a blanie verse as the best of you ; and being an
J absolute Johannes Factotum^ is in his own conceyt the onely Shake scene
L^n a country J*^

In addition to the dramatic and other poetical pieces, of which he was
wholly or in part the author, Lodge translated into English the works of
Josephus and Seneca.

' Gayton, or, as he sometimes styled himself De Speciosa Villa^ upon
leaving Merchant Taylors', entered of St John's College^ Oxford, where
he became a Fellow, and subsequently M.B. His enthusiasm and devoted-
ness as a Royalist led, in 1647, to his ejection by the Parliamentary visitors
of the University, and he sought refuge in London. There he married,
and endeavoured, not very successfully, to live by his wits and literary
labours. On the Restoration, he returned to Oxford, where, as Wood
relates, following "the vices of poets," he died in 1664, with "but one
farthing in his pocket."

Gayton wrote many pleasantries, which deserve a better &te than the
oblivion they have fallen into. Among these are his coaise but clever
Festivous Notes upon Don Quixote; Epuke Oxonifnsis : or, a Jbeular Rekk'
turn of a Banquet presented to the best of Kings by the bat of PrdateSy &c. ;
William BagnalPs Ghost^ or the Merry Devil of Gadmurtton ; Wit Revived^
published in 1660 under Uie name of Dryasdust Tossoffacan ; and The Art

248 The Great Schools of England.

Shirley, the dramatist -} William Sherard, founder of the
Oxford Professorship of Botany, which bears his name ; Peter
LE Neve, Norroy King at Arms, an eminent genealogist, and
one of the earliest Presidents of the Antiquarian Society;
Samuel Harris, First Professor of Modem Histoiy at Cam-
bridge ; Daniel Neale, who wrote The History of the Puritans ;
Henry Woodward, the famous actor ; John Byrom,* James

ofLot^evity : an art in which poor Gayton was not a proficient, since he
died at a comparatively eariy age.

1 ThiB accomplished dramatist proceeded from School to St John's Col-
lege, Oxford, but after some stay, having been told by Laud, its president,
that a mole on his left cheek unfitted him for the sacred fimction, he
migrated to Catherine Hall, Cambridge, when he again stndied for the
Church, received ordination, and obtained a curacy in the neighbourhood
of St. Alban's. His conversion to Catholicism interrupted his clerical
career and compelled him to turn schoolmaster. At a later period he
went to London, and, under the patronage of Queen Henrietta Maria,
became a fruitful dramatic writer. When the civil war began, he was
unwilling to remain an inactive spectator, and served in the royal army
under the Duke of Newcastle. The king's cause declining, he once more
retired to London, and, finding the theatres closed, opened a school in
Whitefriars. At the Restoration, the Stuart gratitude which disappointed
so many adherents of higher grade, disappointed Shirley likewise. His
services and sacrifices passed unrequited, and he died at last, in his seventy*
second year, under peculiarly distressing drcumstanoes ; a sorrowful death
fittingly closing a disastrous Ufe. Shirley and his wife, then living in White-
friars, were driven from their habitation by the Great Fire of London, and
sought safety in the parish of St Giles-in-the-Field. There, overcome by-
fright and a keen sense of their destitute condition, they sunk under the
affliction, and expired both on the same day.

An able, versatile, and most industrious writer, Shirley, besides being
the author of no fewer than thirty-seven dramatic pieces well received in his
own day, and most of them familiar in ours, through Gifibrd's edition, was,
conjointiy with George Chapman, the author of a comedy called The BcUl^
and of a tragedy entitied, Ckabot^ Admiral of France, He wrote, -also,
several masques, an English and a Latin Grammar, and a volume of poems,
which in parts has considerable tenderness and pathos.

' Byrom, now remembered principally by the system of shorthand which
he invented, and which still bears his name, was a man of varied talents
and of no inconsiderable learning. Upon leaving Merchant Taylors*, he
entered at Trinity College, Cambridge, and having graduated, in 171 1, was
elected a Fellow of the College in 17 16. His infirm health prompted him

Merchant Taylors'. 249

TowNLEY, afterwards Head Master of the School; Robert, the
first Lord Clive ;^ John Latham, author of Th^ History of
Birds; VicesSTmus Knox,* who wrote the well-known book
called KnooCflEssayr; Joshua Brookes, the most eminent

to visit Montpellier. While in France he became deeply interested in the
system of Malebranche, and he returned to En^and strongly possessed with
that visionary philosophy.

He married one of his cousins|y with whom he had fallen passionately in
love, against the wishes of her family, and receiving no support firom her
father, his own slender fortune was speedily exhausted. In distress for
means, he had recourse to the system of writing shorthand, which he had
devised some years before at Cambridge. Giving instructions in this art,
he subsisted with tolerable comfort until the death of his elder brother
rendered him comparatively wealthy.

Byrom was the author of the beautiful pastoral, Colin and Phcebe^ in the
Spectator as well as many other poetical works, the most notable being a
poem on Enthttsicum. He witnessed both of the great Jacobite risings, and
on one occasion, at a dinner-party, where party-spirit ran hi^, and party-
toasts were briskly circulated, is reported to have allayed the violence of
discussion by improvising the clever lines : —

** God bless the King ! God bless the Faith's Defender t
God bless —no harm in blessing — the Pretender \
Who the Pretender is, and who the King,
God bless us all I that*s quite another thing."

1 Of Lord Clive it is scarcely necessary to give more than the name,
the career of this famous " Merchant Taylor** belonging to the history of
his country. His administrative were as great as his military talents, and
he was the real founder of the British empire in India. Clive's deeds have
been often brilliantly narrated, but they have not often been impartially
judged.

' For more than thirty years Vicessimus Knox was Principal of the
School at Tunbridge, and, during the early part of his residence there, he
published a comprehensive and intelligent work, called Liberal Education,
which led to several notable improvements in University teaching. A
Latinist, accomplished, though not, perhaps, profound, he edited Horace.
Juvenal, and other of the classics. A popular preacher, he gave to the
world a number of his sermons. The champion of liberty through good
and ill report, he denounced wrong and tyranny in the most able of his
productions, TTie Spirit of Despotism, His works, which have been praised
for the simplicity and elegance of their style, procured for their author a
brilliant though transient popularity, and were translated into several foreign
languages.

25©

TTie Great Schools of England.

anatomist of his time ; Charles Mathews, the elder, and
his son, the present Charles" James Mathews, thej)Qpular
comedians : Charles /Yoxjng, the favourite traged^'7 5iR
g^vPY^ ELLisfTormerly Librarian to the British Museum ;
Henry Cune, the great surgeon of St Thomas's Hospital ;
Dixon Denham, the African Traveller, Philip Bliss, Editor
of Wood's AthemR Oxon.; John Gough Nichols, tfie anti-
quary \ Sir Samuel Shepherd, Lord Chief Baron of Scotland
(1828); Sir R. B. Comyn, Lord Chief Justice of Madras;
Right Hon. Sir John Dodson, Judge of the Prerogative
Court; Edward Bond, Assistant Keeper of Manuscripts in
the British Museum ; Samuel Birch, Keeper of the Oriental
and Mediaeval Antiquities at the British Museum; George
Robert Grey, of the 2^ological department of the British
Museum ; and the late Albert Smith, the amusing exponent
of An Ascent of Mont Blinc. ^

GOVERNING BODY OF MERCHANT TAYLORS' SCHOOL

IN 1865.

MasUr^John Watson Lay, Esq.
IVantens.

C. Richards, Esq.

R. Boyman Boyman, Esq.

C. M. Clode, Esq.
H. H. Lindsay, Esq.

J. Thompflon, Esq.
J. P. Atkins, Esq.
J. Hunt, Esq.
C. M. Hullah, Esq.
W. Gilpin, Esq.
W. Jackson, Esq.

A. S. Pigeon, Esq.
T. B. Pugh, Esq.
W. Waugh, Esq.

E. S. Complin, Esq.

W. Johnson, Esq.

T. Chateris, Esq.

C. Gordon, Esq.

J. Ewart, Esq.

T. B. Spence, Esq.

R. Baggallay, Esq. Q.C. M.A.

B. Dobree, Esq.

G. Parbury, Esq.

W. F. White, Esq,

J. S. Fletcher, Esq.

Sir J. Tyler.

H. Bellamy, Esq.

J. W. Thnipp, Esq.

J. Costeker, Esq.

J. Bonus, Esq.

J. G. Lay, Esq.

J. Twinley, Esq.

W. Nash, Esq.

E. Mastennan, Esq.

H. Pigeon, Esq.

W. S. EUiott, Esq.

T. W. Baggallay, Esq.

J. A. Gathiie, Esq. M.A.

^t^^r^

Merchant Tayhrs\ 251

MASTERS OF MERCHANT TAYLORS* SCHOOL IN 1865.

The Rev. J. A. Hessey, D.C.L. late Fellow of St John's College, Oxford ;
Preacher to the Hon. Society of Gray's Inn ; Prebendary of St.
Paul's, and late Bampton Lecturer at Oxford.

Assistant of the Head Master in the Classical School.
Rev. C. Crowden, M .A. Lincoln College, Oxford.

Under Masters^

Rev. J. A. L. Airey, M.A. Pembroke College, Cambridge.
Rev. R Whittington, M.A. Trinity College, Cambridge.
Rev. C. Scott, M.A. St John's College, Cambridge.
Rev. A. J. Church, M.A. Lincoln College, Oxford.

Masters in the Mathematical School.

Rev. J. A. L. Airey.
Rev. R. Whittington.

Rev. C. Scott
Rev. A. J. Church.

Masters in the French School.
Monsieur Masse. | Monsieur F. Geney.

Drawing Master — Mr. H. Fahey.

Masters in the Writing and Arithmetic School.
Mr. J. W. Goldsmith. | Mr. A. J. Vialls.

Examiners of the School,

Ven. Archdeacon Browne, M.A. Canon of Wells.

Rev. C. Matheson, M.A. late Fellow of St. John's College, Oxford.

Rev. Professor Hall, M. A. King's College, London.

H. F. Bowker, Esq. of Christ's Hospital.

as a '^he Great Schools of England,

CHAPTER IV.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE ROYAL
COMMISSION CONCERNING MERCHANT TAYLORS'
SCHOOL.

" We observed at the outset that there was an important
difference between Merchant Taylors' School and the others
into which we have inquired. At St. Paul's School the Mercers'
Company do not admit themselves trustees, in the legal sense
of the term, of the Coletine estates, but they acknowledge that
they are bound to maintain the School; at Merchant Taylors',
on the other hand, the Company hold themselves free from
any legal obligation whatever. They consider that the School
is theirs simply, and that no one could challenge their act if
they were to abolish it altogether. A fortiori^ they consider
that they can deal with it in the way of regulation and modifi-
cation as they please.

Whether this position be tenable or not in law, we do not
feel called upon to pronounce. It is clear, at any rate, that
the original Statutes, which are the constituent documents of
the School, indicate on the part of the Company at that time
an intention that it should be a permanent Foundation, as
indeed it has hitherto been. In the preamble it is said that
' the Master, Wardens, and Assistants have . . . decreed and
do . . . decree that the said School shall . . . have continuance
by God's grace for ever.' The 3Sth Statute directs that the
'Master, &a for the time being shall yearly for ever make
their assembly, &c.' The 36th and 37th contain similar
expressions.

WB«

Merchant Taylors\ 253

We think it right also to notice the material facts, that con-
siderable endowments have been bestowed and accepted for
the benefit of the School, and that its present site was in great
part if not wholly acquired by money given for the purpose of
establishing a School there by an individual member of the
Company.

As the case stands, however, we do not recommend any
change in the present government of the School, nor in the
powers of the Company, nor do we criticise minutely the
details of their expenditure on it, the liberality of which we
have acknowledged ; but we are bound to suggest such altera-
tions on material points as seem to us desirable, leaving it to
the Company to adopt them should they see fit so to apply
their funds.

Of the General Recommendations, those only which are
numbered I. — ^V. XXVI. — XXX. appear to be inapplicable
to Merchant Taylors' School. We advise the adoption, in
substance, of the rest, so far as they do not already form part
of the system and practice of the School

It will follow that, whilst the ancient classical character of
the School is maintained, the same studies which we have
recommended as compulsory at other schools would be intro-
duced here. In this case the additions would be Natural
Science, German, on an equal footing with French, Music, and
(to a greater extent than at present) Drawing.

This course of study might be graduated, under the direction
of the Company, on the same scale as we have recommended
elsewhere ; and we do not anticipate any serious disturbance
of the present arrangements in consequence of the change,
except indeed that a material reduction must take place in the
amoimt of mathematical worL But this, as we shall have
occasion to observe hereafter, seems in itself desirable.

I. The first suggestion which we have to make specially
relating to this School refers to the system of nomination,
which we should wish to see modified on the same general
principles as we have recommended elsewhere. We do so
here with the more confidence, as we have in substance

254 ^^^ Great Schools of England,

adopted Dr. Hesse/s proposals. We think it would be verj-
advantageous if the members of the Corporation would agree
to surrender their right of absolute nomination, and would in
lieu thereof establish a system of limited competition for
admission into the School among their nominees. As an
illustration of the mode in which such a S3rstem might be
introduced, we suggest that two examinations might be held
in the year, for each of which every member of the Corpo-
ration might nominate a competitor, and that after examination
a list should be formed of the boys in order of merit, from
which list boys should be admitted into the School in the
same order as vacancies occurred until the next half-yearly
examination, when a fresh list should be formed in like manner
for the half-year following. It would be in the power of the
members to nominate the same boys for a second competition
if they had not been admitted within the half-year following
their first We would also call attention to a recommendation
which has been brought under our notice, viz. that it would
be an improvei^ient to establish certain Scholarships in the
School to be given to boys whose performance may have been
the best upon the competitive examination for admission, and
to be held for a certain portion of their stay in the School.

2. We think that the occupation of the whole of the after-
noon in Mathematics is disproportionate to the rest of the
work, and that the range of the mathematical subjects is clearly
beyond what is good for boys. Dr. Hessey states this, though
not very strongly; nor does this excess in mathematical teaching
seem adequately represented in any preponderance of mathe-
matical distinction at the Universities. We conceive that the
mathematical work should be reduced at least one-third, both
in time and in amount

3. On the other hand, we think that at least two more
Classical Masters are required.

4. We recommend the Company to consider whether arrange-
ments might not be made by which some of the boys, according
to circumstances, should have their luncheon on the school
premises. This, and the still more important points of addi-

Merchant Taylor^. 255

tional class room and a better playground, both of which are
strongly dwelt on by Dr. Hessey, will no doubt receive the
immediate attention of the Company on their becoming actually
possessed of the property which they have lately purchased.

Dr. Hessey has also stated that he should be glad if a school
chapel existed in the premises.

5. We do not advise any return to a regular boarding-house
system, which in actual circumstances would be practically an
innovation. It has appeared to us, as we have before intimated,
that in London, while such ancient boarding schools as are to
be found may still be kept up, there is no demand at all for
the extension of such schools, though there is a veiy active
and increasing demand for good day schools. We think, how-
ever, that the Head Master and the Company might advan-
tageously have some more formal and direct power of visiting
and controlling such boarding-houses as are used.

6. In reference to what we have just said as to the demand
for day-school instruction in London, we suggest that it might
be desirable to extend the benefits of this School by admitting
boys unconnected with the Foimdation into the School upon
application for that purpose before the close of their sixteenth
year, upon the terms of paying a moderate sum for the cost
of their education ; and that the Exhibitions, Scholarships,
and other benefits of a similar description now enjoyed by
boys educated at Merchant Taylors' on quitting School, either
at one of the Universities or elsewhere, should be open to the
competition of all such boys.

7. We advise that the competition for such Exhibitions and
Scholarships should be conducted by means of special exami-
nations, and that these examinations should be conducted by
examiners to be appointed for the purpose; that where any
such Exhibitions or Scholarships are supplied from funds not
held by or for any particular College, it should be in the power
of the successful candidates to hold them at any College at
either University ; that such portion of the Exhibitions and
Scholarships should be awarded to proficiency in the subjects
of mathematics, modem languages, and physical science respec-

256 The Great Schools of England.

tively, as may be proportionate to the weight and value of each
subject in the whole course of education at Merchant Taylors'.
8. Finally we think it is expedient that the ancient Statutes
of the School should be revised and published under the
authority of the Company."

Charterhouse. 357

CHARTER-HOUSE.

FXOREAT JGTERNUM CA&THUSIANA DOMUS.

CHAPTER I.— HISTORICAL.

" Without the bar of West Smithfield," says Stow, " lieth a
large street or way, called of the House of St John there,
St. John Street^ and stretcheth towacrds Iseidon. Here in the
middle of the street, standeth Hick^ Hail, on the right hand
whereof stood the late dissolved monastery called The Char^
TER-HOUSE, founded by Sir Walter Manny y Knight, a stranger /
bom." '

The site upon which this foundation stands, was ancientlyj
part of the estates of The Hospital op St. John of Jeru- i
SALEM, and consisted of several acres. About the middle of/
the fourteenth century, a dreadful pestilence, after devastating
the principal countries of Europe, reached England, and so
awful were its ravages, especially in London, that the ordinary
churchyards soon became insufficient for the interment of the
dead, so that other burial-places, mostly pits dug in the open
fields, became indispensable. While this calamity was at its
height, Ralph Stratford, Bishop of London, purchased three
acres of groimd known as " No Maris Landl^ and, enclosing
them, built a chapel thereon, and consecrated the place as a
cemetery under the name of ^^ Pardon Churchyards^ Shortly
afterwards, the plague still raging, the famous Sir Walter de
Manny, of Hainault, one of the first Companions of the Garter,
a Knight whose services under Edward IIL in our long wars
of the period are immortalized in the graphic chronicles of
Froissart, bought for the like pious purpose a piece of ground

s

258 7^ Great Schools of England.

adjoining the three acres, called the Spital Croft. This having
been consecrated, the two burial-places, about sixteen acres in
extent, were united, and upwards of 50,000 persons were buried
there. Sir Walter named the place " New Church Haw^^ and
built a chapel on part of the ground. This chapel, wherein
Stow relates that great and numerous oblations were made for
many years after, stood about the centre of the area now called
Charter-house Square. Long afterwards, when this gallant
soldier retiuned to England full of years and honours, he
united with Michael de Northburgh, then Bishop of London,
in building and endowing on part of the site a Prioiy for
twenty-four Carthusian Monks. Having established the foun-
dation with an ample revenue. Sir Walter obtained for it in
137 1 a charter from the King, which is still preserved, and
which recites the foundation to be in honour of God and the
Virgin Mary by the appellation of " The Salutation of the
Mother of God."

" The ChartreuXy" the name chosen by Sir Walter Manny for
his Priory, is said to be derived from the place where Bruno,
the first Carthusian monk, retired from the world and founded
this Order. It was situate upon a steep rock in a desert about
five leagues from Grenoble, and has been the parent of many
similar foundations in different countries, always preserving its
own pre-eminence in the title of " The Grand Chartreux^^

Sir Walter died in 1372, and was buried in the Prioiy, his
funeral being attended by King Edward III. and the chief
prelates and barons of the kingdom. His Foundation con-
tinued to flourish until the dissolution of monasteries under
Henry VIII., when, says Mr. Froude, " England became the
theatre of a war between two armies of martyrs, to be waged
not upon the open field in open action, but at the stake and
on the scafibld with the nobler weapons of passive endurance.
Each party were ready to give their blood ; each party were
ready to shed the blood of their antagonists."^ Refusing to
acknowledge the spiritual supremacy of the King, Houghton,
the Prior, Middlemore, the Proctor, with several subordinate

* History ofEngtand^ voL L p. 342.

Charter-house, 259

members of the monastery, were committed to the Tower.
After a month's imprisonment they subscribed what was
required of them ; but Henry, resolved to crush all opposition,
appointed his own governors, who took possession of the key ;
and on the 4th of May, 1535, the Prior and two of his brethren,
they having been found guilty of speaking too freely of the
sovereign's proceedings, were '* hanged, drawn, and quartered
at Tyburn." In little more than a month the Proctor and two
other brethren of the Order, shared the same horrible fate. Of
the survivors of the little fraternity, two escaped and joined
" The Pilgrimage of Grace," but being recaptured were hanged
in chains at York. Ten others were sent to Newgate, where
nine died miserably, and the tenth, after an incarceration of
four years, was executed.

^"^ ^537) ^hc monastery and its possessions, then valued at
642/. 4X. 6//. per annutn^ were surrendered to the king, who
razed the buildings to then: foundation, and granted the site to
two of his grooms, and subsequently to Sir Edward North.^
From Sir Edward, the Charter-house passed to John Dudley,
Duke of Northumberland, on whose attainder and execution
for high treason in 1553, it reverted to the Crown. Queen
Mary then re-granted it to Sir Edward, whom she, in 1554?
created Baron North of Killege.

"On the 23d November, 1558, about a week after her
accession to the crown. Queen Elizabeth, attended by a train
of about a thousand nobles, knights, gentlemen, and ladies,
took up her abode for the present," Miss Aiken relates, "at
the dissolved monastery of the Chartreux, or Charter-house,
then the residence of Lord North, a splendid pile, which offered
ample acconmiodation for a royal retinue." The Queen stayed
at the Charter-house five days, while the preparations for her

1 The Norths held considerable property in the neighbourhood of Charter-
honse. Roger North, the affectionate brother and graphic biographer of
Francis North, Lord Gnildford, Keeper of the Great Seal, tempore Charles II.
tells of one of their ancestors — " This John North had three wives, of whom
the first best deserves to be remembered, for she left him an estate in St,
John's Court by Smithfield.''

S 2

36o 7^ Great Schools of England.

coronation were completed She resided there again for a few
days in July, 1561, when about to leave the metropolis on one
of her progresses through the eastern counties. Upon the
death of Edward, Lord North, in 1564, his son Roger sold the
mansion to Thomas Howard, fourth Duke of Norfolk, for
3,500/. This luckless nobleman, the premier duke of England,
and head of the great Roman Catholic house of Howard, made
Charter-house his chief residence, and spent large sums in
re-edifying a portion of the buildings. In 1569, having been
suspected of a treasonable correspondence with Mary, Queen
of Scots, he was committed to the Tower, whence, on a petition
presented by him for a change of quarters, he was restored to
his home at Charter-house, but under the surveillance of Sir
Henry NeviL A few months later, fresh evidence was dis-
covered or forged against him ; the cypher of his correspon-
dence was found hidden under the tiles of the Charter-house,^
and a mock trial ended in his conviction and execution for high
treason, on the 2d June, 1572. Elizabeth, however, who appears
to have been, with reason, doubtful of his guilt, who had
repeatedly reprieved him, and was with difficulty led to sign
his final death-wanant, shortly afterwards restored the estates to
his family, and Charter-house fell to the share of Lord Thomas
Howard, the duke's fourth son, who, in 1603, was created Earl
of Suffolk by James I.

Like his royal predecessor Elizabeth, Ring James made his
first entrance into London by way of Charter-house, where he
kept court from the 7th to the nth May, and where, at his
departure, he dubbed fourscore Rnight-Bachelors in a single
day. From the Earl of Suffolk, the demesne, then usually
called '' Howard-house," was purchased on the 9th May, 161 1,
for the sum of 13,000/. by Thomas Sutton,* who had con-

1 Bearcroft's Historical Account of Tkonuis SuUon^ and the Fowtdation of
the Charter Houst^^^ p. 202.

* In the Deed of Conveyance the premises are described as Howard-
house, commonly called The Charter-house, consisting of divers courts a
wilderness, orchards, walks, and gardens, with Pardon Church-yard, and
two adjoining messuages, called WUlbech^ with aU the buildings, ways, &c"

mt^^m^^w^^^m^^^'^^^^^^mKmfra^m^^im^Km^BW^m

CharUr-hause. 261

ceived the benevolent design of appropriating this splendid
mansion to the purposes of a hospital for the support of poor
and aged people, as well as to a free school for the main-
tenance and education of poor children.

The founder of Charter-house was bom of an ancient family
at Knaith, in Lincolnshire, a.d. 1532. His father, Richard
Sutton, was steward to the Court of Corporation of Lincoln.
His mother, whose maiden name was Stapleton, belonged to
the family of that name in Yorkshire, and claimed as her
ancestor Sir Miles Stapleton, one of the first Knights of the
Order of the Garter.

Of Sutton's early life few authentic particulars are known.
He is said to have received the rudiments of education at Eton
College, and to have entered at St John's College, Cambridge.
After leaving Cambridge, without taking a degree, he became
a member of Lincoln's Inn, but soon abandoned jurispm-
dence, and devoted himself for years to travelling in Holland,
Spain, and Italy. During his absence abroad his father died,
leaving him and his mother joint-executors to his will.

Upon his retum to England, polished by intercourse with
other nations, well skilled in several languages, and possessed
of a fine estate, he was received into the family of the Duke of
Norfolk, and subsequently, at the recommendation of the duke,
became secretary successively to the Earl of Warwick, and to the
Earl of Leicester. Upon the breaking out of the rebellion in the
North, under the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland,
Mr. Sutton so highly distinguished himself that, by the patron-
age of the Earl of Warwick, he was appointed Master-General
of the Ordnance in the North, for life.

When the expedition was organized to aid the Regent of
Scotland, Morton, in reducing the fortresses which still held out
for Mary, Queen of Scots, Sutton served as a volunteer, and
commanded one of the batteries at the siege and surrender of
Edinburgh Castle.

Shortly after this he obtained from the Crown a lease of the
manors of Gateshead and Wickham, near Newcastle-on-Tyne,
where he was fortunate enough to discover several rich veins

25a 77ie Great Schools ofEn^and,

of coal, which he worked with such success, that by the year
1580, he was reputed to be worth the then enormous sum of
50,000/.

About the middle of the year 1582, when at the mature age
of fifty, Mr. Sutton married Mrs. Elizabeth Dudley, widow of
John Dudley, Esq., of Stoke Newington. With this lady he
acquired a considerable addition to his fortune, together with
a moiety of the manor of Stoke Newington, the manor-
house of which near the church, he adopted as his country
seat.

At this period of his career he purchased a large house
near Broken Wharf, adjoining Queenhithe, where he entered
deeply into commercial pursuits. Through certain operations
suggested and executed by him — ^the honour of which has been
mistakenly attributed to Sir Thomas Gresham, Mr. Sutton
prevented Philip the Second of Spain from receiving supplies,
on which he had confidently relied, through the Bank of Genoa,
and thus occasioned so much delay in .the equipment of the
Armada, preparing for the invasion of England, that Queen
Elizabeth was enabled to provide for and defeat it At the same
time of danger and alarm, having been chosen Commissioner
of Prizes, he fitted out a laige barque called " Sutton," and
captured a Spanish vessel, with a cargo valued at 20,000/.

It is quaintly remarked by Heme, the earliest and most
affectionate of Sutton's biographers, that *' some men love to
look on the knotty side of the arras, and take little notice
of the comely figure that is wrought on the right side of the
hangings.'' This turning of the seamy side without, in most
cases unfair, would, in the case of Sutton, be ungrateful also.
Still it must be admitted that the founder of the Charter-house
presents no exception to the saying of Shakespeare : — ^*^ The
web of our life is of a mingled yam, good and ill together."
Alike while he lived, and immediately after his decease, charges
of extreme rapacity, and even indirectness in the acquisition of
his great wealth, as well as of too much frugality in its expen-
diture, were uiged against Sutton. Such accusations may
have been, they most probably were, exaggerated by the old

Charter-house. 263

man's enemies, but the defence, or rather pleas, in extenuation,
which his friends advance, show that these charges were not
altogether unfounded. The " si non errasset, fecerit ille
minus," of Heme, is but' an indifferent vindication when
uiged in reply to those who censured not the ultimate disposal,
but the mode of acquisition of Thomas Sutton's fortune.
" The world," adds Heme, who, it should be noticed, wrote
while many who remembered Sutton were alive — " the world
has not been so kind to the memory of this great man, as to
represent him to the open view with those graceful lines and
fair advantages his actions really have deserved." To set the
character of his benefactor in a fairer light, Heme took up his
pen, and his '' Life of Sutton," from which the present sketch
is mainly compiled, gives a particular, and by no means an
improbable account of the earlier part of Sutton's career. It
was shortly after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, that he,
then already a man of substance, and well skilled in employing
it to profitable ends, came up to London, *' where his riches
increased and came upon him like a tyde by the just acts and
methods which he used. He brought with him to London the
reputation of a mighty-monied man, insomuch that it was
reported that his purse retumed from the North fuller than
Queen Elizabeth's exchequer. His payments were thought as
sure as her pensions; the readiness of his money and the
faimess of his dealing laid the grounds of a mighty reputa-
tion, for now he is looked upon by all men, he has the first
refusal of the best bargains of sales and mortgages .... His
fame and credit brought him to share in many offices at the
Court and at the Custom-house, where they had occasion for
his money ; for when an industrious man has once raised his
fortunes to a considerable pitch, he then grows rich apace by
sharing in the constant labours of many of the mder sort of
men. He was a sharer in several public farms, a partner in
foreign adventures, especially in Muscovy and Hamburgh, in-
somuch that he had no less than thirty agents abroad." Sutton
thus far appears but to ha\se traversed with persevering diligence
the beaten road to riches. " There are few ways in which

264 The Great Schools 0/ England.

a man can be more innocently employed than in gettiiig
money/' 8a3r8 Dr. Johnson, but a wiser moralist has warned
us that " he who maketh haste to be rich shall not be
innocent** The chaige advanced most vehemently^ and with
the greatest show of probability, against Sutton, amounts in
effect to this — that he was wont to play upon the covetous-
ness of his acquaintance, inducing them to make him costly
presents, or part with their lands, and other property, for an
inadequate price, by holding out hopes of a bounteous pro-
vision for them in his will So notorious was he in this respect,
say his detractors, that Ben Jonson,^ in his delineation of the
character of VolpotUy was not unmindful of some traits in that
of Sutton. Heme discountenances, but does not venture to
deny, this latter rumour, and with reference to the chaige itself,
which his defence sc^ems by implication to admit, contents
himself by censuring the greediness which led the dupes to
ruin. After all, the justice of the case may perhaps be satisfied
by the candid admission and the eloquent deprecation with
which Heme sums up his eulogium : — " It is not intended by
this character of Mr. Sutton that he should be free from all
blemish. ... All things have a mixture of cormption here
below ; nay, it is riveted in our veiy nature. The fairest figure
must have some flaws, and the most beautiful image some
unhappy strokes ; therefore he, as all other men, was subject
to the like passions. Whatever were his failings, common

1 Gifford, in his life of Ben Jonson, refers to the prevalent nunonr, and
repudiates it altogether. He cites many passages, which, as he justly
observes, are not only inconsistent with, but diametrically opposed to all we
know of Sutton. It is somewhat remarkable, however, that he omits the
passage which immediately bears upon the charges : —

" I have no wife, no parent, child, ally.
To give my substance to ; but whom I make
Must be my heir ; and this makes men observe me ;
This draws new clients daily to my house,
Women and men of eveiy sex and age^
That bring me presents, send me plate, coin, jewels,
With hope that when I die (which they expect
Each greedy minute), it shall then return
Ten-fold upon them.*'--7:i^/2ur, Act I. Sc. i.

Charter-house. 26$

charity should endeavour to hide his infirmities, who was
content to spread his garments over so great a multitude."

To return from this digression. As he advanced in years,
Sutton wisely determined to proportion his afifairs to his
declining powers, and to retire from public life. He accord-
ingly gave up his town house, and surrendered his patent as
Afe-ster-General of the Ordnance in the north. But ever active
in beneficence, in the same year, 1599, he conveyed in trust to
the Lord Chief Justice of England, Sir John Popham, and to
the Master of the Rolls, Sir Thomas Egerton, all his estates in
Essex, to found an Hospital at HaUingbury Bouchers in that
couAty. This intention, however, he abandoned ; resolving
instead to establish and endow a similar Hospital upon a much
grander scale at Charter-house.

At this time, also, desiring to settle his worldly affairs, he
made a will, by which Mrs. Sutton was bountifully provided for,
and if. which, as a pi:oof of his " trewe and faithful hearte borne
to his dread Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth," he bequeathed her
Majesty two thousand pounds. In the following year Mr.
Sutton afforded another proof of hi/s untiring benignity. Owing
to the failure of the harvest, com had risen to famine prices,
and there is an order in his own handwriting still among the
archives of the Charter-house, whereby his steward was em-
powered to supply the poor for thirty weeks with all the
produce of his estates.

Ailer an almost unexampled career of public prosperity and
domestic happiness, he in 1602 suffered a severe affliction in
the loss of his wife, — a woman devotedly attentive to the
duties of her station j and, emulating her noble husband, so
conspicuous for charities, that in her lifetime the mansion of
Mr. Sutton was an '^ open hospital." After the loss of this
admirable helpmate Mr. Sutton made great changes in his
domestic establishment Lessening his family and discharging
many of his servants, he '* became frugal that he might be the
more magnificent to many," ** Thus he toyled and wrought,"
Heme observes, " as if he coveted all, and gave away as if he
desired nothing." He was approaching rapidly towards extreme

266 The Greai Schools of England.

old age ; irresolute z& to the precise disposition of his enormous
wealth, but fixed in his determination to devote it mainly to
charitable purposes. His perplexity was not a little increased
by the schemes suggested to him by projectors and adventurers,
many of them chimerical or of very dubious utility. These
applications annoyed him much, but he was still more mortified
and distressed ^y an intrigue which was set on foot by Sir
John Harrington, to induce the King to make Mr. Sutton a
baron, on conditipn, or at least with the implied understanding,
that he should leave his great estates to the Duke of York,
afterwards Charles I. English^ Scottish, and Irish titles were
at this time bargained for as openly at the court of James I. as
any merchandise was trafficked in the markets. The supply
exceeded the demand, and the commodity to be disposed of
sank in value accordingly. At no price, however, would Mr.
Sutton have been a purchaser. He was no sooner acquainted
with the design than he wrote in terms of respectful indignation
to the Lord Chancellor and Treasurer, disavowing the courtier's
application and requesting to be permitted to dispose of his own
property with the freedom enjoyed by "other of his Majest/s
loyal subjects.*' This unpleasant transaction occurred in 1608 ;
about which period Mr. Sutton received an admirable letter
from Dr. Hall, afterwards Bishop of Exeter, exhorting him to
general works of charity, yet leaving the objects of his bounty
to his own choice. The following year the harassed millionaire
applied for and obtained an Act of Parliament empowering
him to erect the hospital at Hallingbury Bouchers ; a design
which, as we have seen, was not proceeded with, and on
the 2 2d of June, 161 1, he procured Letters Patent and licence
of Mortmain, authorizing him to found his Hospital and Free
School at Charter-house.

His pious and affectionate regard for the infant establish-
ment determined him to fill the office of Master himself in the
first instance; but, increasing infirmities rendering him in-
capable of the duties, he nominated the Rev. John Hutton, of
Littlebuiy, Essex, to that important charge. On the ist of
November, 161 1, he executed a deed of gift of his estates to

. >, u. I I I Hm^^mmmtmmm^m^Kmr^^fimmmm^fm^t^Kmmmmmm^mm^mmmmmm/IK^Km^mKm

Charter-hotise, 267

the governors, in trust for the Hospital, and on the 28th of the
same month he signed his last will in the presence of several
witnesses, leaving numerous legacies, and scarcely omitting
the remembrance of a single person, poor or rich, with whom
he had been connected.

His ailments rapidly increasing, on the 12th of December
following, Thomas Sutton closed his long and useful life, at
Hackney, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. His bowels were
deposited in Hackney Church ; his body was embalmed, and
remained at his house until the roads were in a proper state to
admit of its removal ; and on the 28th of May, 161 2, it was
removed with great pomp and attended by thousands of
persons, to Christ Church in Newgate Street, for temporary
interment On the 12th of December, 16 14, the anniversary
of his death, it was removed on the shoulders of the poor,
and finally deposited in a vault on the north side of the Chapel
at the Charter-house, under a magnificent tomb erected to his
memory, the work of Nicholas Stone.

By the Letters Patent of King James, the management of
the new Foundation was vested in sixteen Governors and their
successors : the original list, dated 16 13, consisting of the
Lord Chancellor (EUesmere), the Archbishop of Canterbury,
the Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas (Sir Edward
Coke), the Attorney-General, and other prelates, noblemen,
and gentlemen of distinction. Well was it for the infant insti-
tution that its first guardians were men with both will and
power to maintain its rights. Shortly after the death of Mr.
Sutton, his nephew and heir-at-law was instigated to commence
proceedings to set aside his uncle's grant; and Sir Francis
Bacon is said to have recommended the King to cancel his
Letters Patent, and divert the Charter-house estates to uses
never contemplated by their donor. These attempts to regain
possession of the property were strenuously resisted by the
Governors; and the Lord Chancellor and other great law
officers agreed in directing an issue at law, in the King's
Bench, and a special verdict to be procured, by which every
doubt was to be considered and decided. The result was, that

268 The Great Schools of England.

Sir Edward Coke, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, certified
that the Founder's incorporation was sufficient, good, and
effectual in law. The Governors held their first meetings on
the 30th of June, 16 13, when they proceeded to make various
regulations and to assign apartments within the Charter-house
for the different officers. It was not, however, before the
middle of 1627, that the Statutes for the government of the
institution were settled, and then at an assembly, the code
commonly called " the New Establishment " received the
signature of Charles I.

In 1628-9, the Governors obtained an Act for establishing
and confirming the Charter-house, which thenceforth flourished
until the outbreak of the great civil war, when its revenues
were seriously impoverished The Hospital estates were for
the most part situated in those counties more especially under
the influence of the Parliament, and the pressure of the excise
levied by the ruling powers in London upon almost every
article of daily consumption, when added to the slackness of
the Charter-house tenantry in paying their rents, compelled the
Governors in 1643 to expend for mere maintenance the whole
reserved fund, and to order every Wednesday evening to be
kept as a fast At this period the annual expenses of the
Hospital exceeded by 1500/. the available revenues, and a
committee of management was^ appointed with the object of
curtailing salaries, pensions, and the household expenditure.
But this step was insufficient to abate the evil. In 1650, there-
fore, a third application to Parliament was made, and the
House of Commons resolved that such of the Governors as
had subscribed the engagement, should continue in office until
further order. By this time, indeed, most of the Governors
who held royalist opinions had either resigned or been expelled,
and their places were occupied by the leading pariiamentarians;
Essex, Lisle, Oliver St. John, Sir Henry Vane, Selden, Thurloe,
Whitlock, Ireton, and Oliver CromwelL But the change of
management does not appear to have improved the financial
position of the charity. On the Restoration, its affairs rallied,
and for some years the authorities pursued their way untroubled

■«

Charter-house. 269

by political or monetary embarrassments. In 1687, however,
they were forced into a collision with James II., under circum-
stances which Lord Macaulay has explained with incomparable
terseness and lucidity : — ''James had commanded the trustees
of the Charter-house, men of the first rank and consideration
in the kingdom, to admit a Roman Catholic named Popham
into the hospital which was under their care. The Master of
the house, Thomas Burnet, a cleig3anan of distinguished genius,
learning, and virtue, had the courage to represent to them,
though the ferocious Jeffreys sate at the board, that what was
required of them was contrary both to the will of the founder
and to an Act of Parliament * What is that to the purpose V
said a courtier who was one of the Governors. * It is very
much to the purpose, I think,' answered a voice feeble with
age and sorrow, yet not to be heard without respect by any
assembly, — the voice of the venerable Ormond. * An Act of
Parliament,' continued the patriarch of the Cavalier party, ' is,
in my judgment, no light thing.' The question was put whether
Popham should be admitted, and it was determined to reject
him. The Chancellor, who could not well ease himself by
cursing and swearing at Ormond, flung away in a rage, and was
followed by some of the minority. The consequence was that
there was not a quorum left, and that no formal reply could be
made to the royal mandate.

" The next meeting took place only two days after the High
Commission had pronounced sentence of deprivation against
Hough, and of suspension against Fairfax. A second mandate
under the Great Seal was laid before the trustees, but the
tyrannical manner in which Magdalen College had been treated
had roused instead of subduing their spirit They drew up a
letter to Sunderland in which they requested him to inform the
Ring, that they could not in diis matter obey his Majesty
without breaking the law, and betraying their trust

^ There can be little doubt that, had ordinary signatures been
appended to this document, the King would have taken some
violent course. But even he was daunted by the great names
of Ormond, Halifax, Danby, and Nottingham, the chiefs of all

270 77u Great Schools of England.

the sections of that great party to which he owed his crown.
He therefore contented himself with directing Jeffreys to
consider what course ought to be taken. It was announced at
one time that a proceeding would be instituted in the King's
Bench ) at another, that the Ecclesiastical Commission would
take up the case : but these threats gradually died away."^

Since this battle for civil and religious liberty was fought and
won by the Governors of Charter-house, the Corporation has
peacefully performed its duties. The revenues, augmented as
well by the gradual increase in the value of money as by the
donations and bequests of subsequent benefactors, now form a
fund sufficiently ample to fulfil the important purposes which
the memorable founder of the institution had in view.

The Buildings, — Nothing so much surprises a stranger on his
first visit to Charter-house as the number and siice of the
various dwellings, offices, and conveniences for the accommo-
dation of the residents, and the capacious area over which this
mass of buildings is spread. Charter-house is a town within
itself. Some of the -structures are modem and commodious,
and the others, while they have little that is sightly or con-
venient to recommend them, are full of interest from their
associations with events and persons of historical importance.

The Chapel — Passing through the Master's Lodge, a hand-
some building adorned with fine old portraits of distinguished
persons who have been connected with the institution, and
which is part of the " fair dwelling " erected by Sir Edward
North about 1537, we reach the chapel court, whence, through
a cloister, we enter the Chapel of Charter-house. From an old
plan of the establishment, drawn about the year 1500, this
chapel appears to stand on a spot once occupied by the principal
portion of the monastery. Over the entrance is an inscription
to one Nicholas Mann, of whom we learn in Iambics that he

was

" Olim magister nunc remistus pulvere,"

but as we are told subsequently to omit "quaeritare," we
need not stay to contemplate his tablet The ante-chapel,

^ History o/Engiand, voL iL pp. 490-1.

Charier-house. 271

which has a groined roof, bears the date of 15 12. At its east
end is a screen on which are the Royal arms and those of
Sutton. Though not large, Charter-house Chapel is greatly
admired as an example of Jacobean style.

The building is nearly square, and is divided into the north
and south aisles by four pillars of the Tuscan order. By the
repairs executed in 1842-3 the appearance of the whole interior
has been much improved ; open seats have replaced the old
pews in the north and south aisles, and a double row of seats,
with stalls for the Master and Preacher, now range along the
wall, said to have been part of the ancient Prioiy Church, on
the south side.

Several beautiful monuments erected in honour of eminent
Carthusians adorn this chapel. The principal of these is a
superb one to the Founder, which is most elaborately orna-
mented, and contains a number of figures, including one of
Thomas Sutton, recumbent, and another of a Preacher address-
ing a large congregation. On the south wall is a monument
by Chantrey in memory of Lord Chief Justice EUenborough,
who was educated at the School, and, at his particular request,
buried in the chapel vault, where lie the remains of the
Founder in a coffin of Egyptian design, on which are the
words " 161 1, Thomas Svtton, Esqvire."

The Great HcUL — This the most ancient and impressive of
the post-Reformation buildings was the banqueting-room of
the Duke of Norfolk. At the west end is a spacious music-
gallery, and on a shield of the frieze are the letters T. N,, and
the date 157 1. At the upper end is a noble picture of Thomas
Sutton, habited in a black gown and holding in his right hand
the ground plan of Charter-house. The fireplace and mantel-
piece are of the date of the Foundation. In this interesting
apartment the Pensioners dine every day at three o'clock, and
on the 1 2th of December, which is kept as an anniversary
commemoration of the Founder, all the chief officials and a
laige party of old Carthusians dine here together.^

1 The anniuil festival of the Carthusians is held on the anniversary of
Mr. Sntton's death. '* It commences," observes their historian (R. Smythe),

*«with

2J2 Th€ Greai Schools of England,

By a door on the right (looking opposite the picture) yon
pass into the upper hall, a small low room, the sole ornament
of which is the carved stone chimney with the Founder's arms
sculptured above, as in the great hall. Here the Foundation
scholars take their dinner daily at one o'clock. There is also
another hall called " Brooke Hall/' after one of the masters, in
which the Master, the Preacher, and other officers dine at
half-past five.

77te Greai Chamber. — ^Thiis remarkable apartment, supposed
to have been built by Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, between the
years 1565 and 1571, is one of the very few rooms in London
that preserve their original decorations. Its most striking
ornament is the chimney-piece, which is of wood, consisting of
a centre and wings in two stories. The lower story contains
the ample fireplace, with its modem but appropriate dogs, and

" with an appropriate sennon in the chapel, which is followed by an oratioii
in Latin, delivered in the Gxeat Hall by the senior boy on the Foimdation.
After complimenting the orator with a purse to enable him to purchase the
necessary books for his future studies, we repair to 'Brook Hall,' and
there by a fervent shake of the hand^recognise an old form, or schoolfellow.
.... We then proceed in detached parties to the scene of our former
toils, of our early pleasures and pursuits, and experience extatic delight in
recounting our hair-breadth escapes from the vigilance of monitors and
masters, our feats at cricket and foot-baU, &c. These pursuits fill up
agreeably the interval between the oration and the dinner. The doth
removed — jocund mirth with all her train come in — our old, but to ns ever
new, Carthusian song diffuses gladness in every heart, and the ancient walls
re-echo with the chorus, —

* Then blessed be the memory^
Of good old Thomas SuUonr-\^
Who gave us lodging, leaming,^^
And he gave us beef and mutton. 'J

The festivity is then chastened by a silent libation ' to the memory of those
Carthusian heroes who have fidlen in the defence of their country ; ' the
minted sensations of pity, regret, and soft melancholy which these recollec-
tions bring o'er the mind, being speedily chased away by 'the Song of
Circles,' — *• Ranting Chowdie had a Cow,' &c &c. and the evening con-
cluding with that true feeling of enjoyment which palls 'not on repetition
nor corrodes upon reflection."

Charier4iomt, 273

is flanked on each side by a pair of Tuscan columns 3ii{](porting
the mantel-piece. The upper story is in like manner formed
by two pair of columns of the Ionic order, and is sufmounted
by a cornice. The whole is richly painted and profnsdy gilt

During many years this great chamber was di^sed for
public purposes, and fell into decay; in 1838, however, it was
cleaned, and, with various decorations, restored to* much of its
original splendour. The tapestiy was arranged again upon
the walls, and the several escutcheons belonging to tfie house
of Norfolk, by which the ceiling is enriched, were restored to
their appropriate heraldic colours.

Historically considered, the great room at Chaiter-house is
peculiarly interesting. For half a century before the Foundation
of Mr. Sutton, it was the drawing-room of one of the most
exalted noblemen in the kingdom. In this room it is probable
that Queen Elizabeth kept her court at least on two occasions ;
and we know that King James I. on his first arrival in London
in 1603, made it the scene of his sojourn for four days,
during which he dispensed his politic favours among many
English noblemen and gentlemen; here also it was that the
first Governors of the Hospital held their consultations.

7^ School, — The School stands upon a mound about the
centre of the very spacious playing-ground. On the key-stone
of the arch over the principal entrance are ensculptured the
names of the Head Masters, and of late years the custom has
been established of adding the name of every boy who leaves
the School not lower than the Fifth Form. There are four
schoolrooms ; one a very large and commodious apartment ;
a second, smaller, called New School, and two others.

77ie Schoalniaster^S' House and Scholar^ Court, — On looking
at these structures from the court, the edifices on the right
are those occupied by scholars. The lower story, in front, with
its six windows, was the old School. It is now divided into
two apartments ; one of which is used by the boarders, and
the other, called " the writing-room," by the gown boys. The
storeys above are the dormitories. On the left hand, in firont,
stands the Schoolmaster's house — a commodious modem

T

^74 ^^ Great Schools of England,

building, near to which is a large garden open only to the
officers of the establishment Adjoining this garden, at the
entrance, is the residence of the matron, who keeps a range
of apartments suitably furnished for the reception of gown
boys who are sick, and a separate infirmaiy for contagious
disorders.

Charier-house. 275

CHAPTER IL
STATISTICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS.

I. Foundation. — By the Letters Patent granted to Thomas
Sutton in the ninth of James L, he was authorized to cany out,
and carried out accordingly, the two objects to which he desired
to dedicate a part of his wealth ; one of these being the foun-
dation of " one hospital, house, or place of abiding for the
tending, sustentation, and relief of poor, aged, maimed, needy,
or impotent people ;" the other, the foundation and establish-
ment in the Charter-house of " one free school for the instruct-
ing, teaching, maintenance and education of poor children and
scholars." As a consideration of the first part of the noble
design does not come within the scope of the present work,
it will be sufficient here to say of it, that the intelligent bene-
ficence of the Founder enables the Governors to provide for
eighty decayed gentlemen, officers in the army and navy,
literary and other professional men, merchants and tradesmen,
who have occupied stations of respectability, a comfortable
retreat, where they are furnished with all the means necessary
to their sustenance and enjoyment, with the privilege of entire
leisure to reflect upon the past and prepare for a future life.

II. Governing Body, — By the Letters Patent, among various
other provisions, sixteen persons therein named were appointed
'^ Governors of the lands, possessions, revenues, and goods of
the Hospital of King James founded in Charter-house,'' and
they were then incorporated by that name, with power to hold
lands and chattels for certain defined objects. In 1637, ^ ^'^

T 2

276

The Great Schools of England.

have seen, the Governors published a set of Statutes, by which,
except so far as they have been altered by subsequent orders
and by Acts of Parliament (3 Car. I., 8 Geo. I. c 29), the
Hospital is professedly regulated.^

The original list of Governors, as nominated by the Founder
consisted of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chan-
cellor, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Ely, Earl of
Northampton, Lord Privy Seal; Sir Edward Coke, Chief
Justice of the Common Pleas ; Sir James Altham, one of
the Barons of the Exchequer ; Sir Henry Hobart, Attorney-
General; Dr. John Overall, Dean of St Paul's; Dr. George
Montaigne, Dean of Westminster; Henry Thoresby, Elsq.;
Richard Sutton, Esq.; Jeffery Nightingale, Esq.; John Law,
gentleman; Thomas Brown, gentleman; and the Rev. John
Hutton, A.M. Master of the Hospital

The present Governors are : —

The Queen.

Prince of Wales.

Ven. W. H. Hale, Archdeacon
of London, Master.*

Earl Howe.

Duke of Buccleuch and Queens-
bury.

EarlRuBselL

Earl of Dalhoune.

Earl of Derby.

}>

ft

»»

»

*f

91

»

The Lord Cranworth.
Earl of Harrowby.
Bishop of London.
Lord Justice Turner.
Ear! of Romney.
Archbishop of Canterbury.
Viscount Palmerston.
Earl of Devon.
Archbishop of York.
Lord Chelmsford.

The Hospital and School are under the same body of
Governors, and derive support, though in different proportions,
from the same trust funds in the hands of that body. The
powers of the Governors in regard to the School comprise the
appointment of the Master, Preacher, Schoolmaster, and Usher ;
the nomination of the Scholars in such number, on such con-
ditions and under such regulations as they may think proper ;
and the limitation of the number of boys to be permitted

^ Report of the Royal Commissioners on Public Schools^ p. 175.
> The names are arranged according to the order in which they nominate
to the Foundation.

Charter-house. 277

to resort to the School In them also is vested the visitorial
authority^ including the power of reforming and redressing
aU abuses and disorders, and of punishing and displacing,
if necessary, any officer or member of the Foundation; they
have the right of electing Foundation Scholars to exhibitions
at the Universities, and of granting outfits, of 100/. each,
to those Scholars who produce from the Schoolmaster certi-
ficates of good conduct, and who enter the army or navy, or
are articled or apprenticed to any trade or business. They
have besides authority to make under their common seal, such
rules, statutes and ordinances, for the government of the
Master and other officers of the establishment (including the
Schoolmaster) and the Scholars, as they may deem meet and
convenient.^

III. Endowmenty Revmuey and Expenditure, — ^No part of the
property originally granted to the Governors of the Hospital is
held in trust especially for the School, but the Hospital for
poor men and the School for poor scholars are supported by a
common fund. The kinds of property so held consist of
houses and buildings in London and Hackney; farms in
various counties ; tithe rents, manorial profits, and quit rents,
timber, interest of money — ^principally in the hands of the
Accountant-General and of the Trustees for Charitable Funds
— ^and interest on fimds held on special trusts for the benefit
of the School.

The average income is nearly 23,000/. ; out of which about
8>ooo/. (or rather more than one-third) is the annual expendi-
ture on the School. It should be added that the Charter
ordains that surplus revenues arising in any one year shall be
employed in the same way, and for the same objects, as the
revenues specially appropriated, and the Governors have re-
cently acted upon this provision, by augmenting the payment
to each poor brother from 26/. lor. to 36/. ; and by increasing
the number of the Scholars.

In addition to this large and probably increasing revenue, the
Governors have the patronage of the following ecclesiastical

1 Reparty p. 176.

278

T^ Great Schools of England.

benefices, the incumbents of which have always been Scholars
formerly on the Foundation.

Parishes.

Incumbents.

Value.

Cambridgeshire :

Rev. C. R. Dicken • .

Between i,ioo/. and

1,200/: as certified
by the £cclesia.sti>
cal Commissioners

on last presentation

(1861}. There are

about 1,000 acres of

land.

£ A. R. p.

Castle Camps . .

Rev. J. E. Bode . . .

630— Glebe, 71 2 34

Horseheath . . .

Rev. W. Battiscombe .

464/. 14X. 6</. —

Glebe, 15 0 0

Essex:

Great Stambridge .

Rev. H. E. Penny . .

700— Glebe, 24 0 33

Southminster . . .

Rev. G. C. Berkdey . .

422— Glebe, 8 2 27

Cold Norton . . .

Rev. W. Holland . . .

38s— Glebe, 42 3 25

Little Hallingbury .

Rev. Stanley Pemberton .

465— Glebe, 29 3 6

Little Wigborow

Rev. F, E. T. Drake . .

220— Glebe, 21 27

Lincolnshire :

Dansby ....

Rev. G. W. KeigbUey .

180— Glebe, about 6
acres.

Buslingthorpe . .

Rev. J. Samson . . .

229/. &r.

The above incumbents are all rectors, except at Southminster; that is a
vicarage, and the Governors are lay rectors.

IV. The Master^ Schoolmaster^ and Assistants, — By the
statutes of 1627, the Master of the Hospital, who is ex officio
a Governor, and who resides within the walls of the esta-
blishment, is to " have the economical government of the
house and household during the Governors' pleasure;" but it
does not appear that his functions and powers iidth respect to
the School have ever been distinctly defined, or are clearly
understood.

The original emoluments of the Master consisted of lodgiQg

^im^^ams^^^m^^^^^mmmmg^m^imm^i^K^Km'mumfiKmmmamK^m

Charter-house. ^79

and diet and 50/. per annum. His present stipend is 800/.;
and he has a house^ rent-free, besides certain perquisites. The
Statutory Masters, to whom the care and instruction of the
Foundation Scholars were committed, were the Schoolmaster^
and the Usher. The stipend of the former was 30/., with
lodgings, diet, and an allowance of fuel; that of the latter 15/.,
with lodging and diet
At present there are six resident Masters, viz.

The School Master,

„ Usher,

„ Mathematical Master,
And Three Assistant Masters.

Besides which there are a French Master, a German Master,
and an Assistant Arithmetical and Writing Master.

The gross remuneration of the Masters who are engaged in
teaching those branches of education which are obligatory
either upon the whole, or upon some portion of the School,
may be set down as follows : —

I

Schoolmaster (including 400/. paid by the Governors) 1,260 per annum.

Usher (including 250/. ditto) 800

First Assistant . ' 200

Second ditto (with rooms) 200

Third ditto 150

Mathematical Master, about 200

There are two French Masters \ one of whom receives 150/.,
the other 60/., per annum ; the Assistant Mathematical Master
receives about no/, per annum, the German Master about
42/. per annum.

The appointment of the Schoolmaster and Usher, it has
been stated, rests with the Governors ; the nomination of the
Mathematical Usher rests with the Schoolmaster, subject to the
approval of the Governors ; and the other Assistant Masters
are appointed by the Schoolmaster, with the approbation of
the Master of the Hospital

1 This is the legal designation of the Head Master of Charter-house
SchooL

aSo 77ie Great Schools 0/ En^nd.

All the Assistant Masters have a consultative voice in the
direction of the studies of the School ; and in matters of im-
portance connected with the School it is the custom of the
Head Master to confer with them, and to receive suggestions.

V. Foundation Scholars, — Charter-house Schopl contains boys
of three descriptions ; —

I St Foundation Scholars.

2d. Boarders in the Schoolmaster's and Usher's house.

3A Day boys.

It is for the Foundation Scholars that Charter-house as a
School more peculiarly exists. With the exception of the
two every year elected by competitipn, they are chosen, as
has been said, by the Governors, who exercise their right in
rotation. The maximum number of them, fixed by the
Statutes of 1627, was 40. At present there are 55, and it is
the intention of the Governors to increase the number to 60.

The Foundation Scholars board in a house appropriated to
them, to which very considerable additions have recently been
made by the Governors, at a cost of more than 4,000/., the
result of which is a material improvement as well in sleeping
accommodation as in other domestic arrangements.

In this house there are two Common rooms, one for the
Upper, the other for the Under boys, breakfast and tea being
taken by all in the former room. There is also a Dining-hall,
and for twelve of the Upper boys there are small studies. The
Head Master is responsible for the management and discipline
of the house, and there is also an Assistant Master resident
there, who directly superintends it

The privileges of a Foundation Scholar are considerable.
He receives gratuitously board, lodging, medical attendance,
and education, including classics, mathematics, French, Ger-
man (if in the Sixth Form), history, geography, and divinity.
Moreover, during the School Terms he is provided with
clothes, and with a gown, and, if in the Upper School, with a
cap or trencher. If he passes a satisfactory examination at the
age of eighteen, he receives an exhibition of 80/. a year (and
20/. extra on taking the degree of B.A.), tenable for four

Charter-hotise. 281

years, at Oxford or Cambridge. When it is added that he
has a preferential claim to any of the livings of which the
patronage is vested in the Governors, his position must be
admitted to be an enviable one.

The only School charges to which a Foundation Scholar is
liable are for books and stationeiy, with a payment of four
guineas per annum by Under boys, and five guineas by Upper
boys, to the Matron, for private washing, and the care of
private clothes. His other charges are a small sum for the
library and for cricket. If he learn Drawing he pays five
guineas ; and for Chemistry, two guineas per annum.

VI. Boarders and Day Boys, — The boarders are chiefly
lodged in the houses of the Schoolmaster and the Usher,
though occasionally a few live in the private house of the
Reader. The charge for board and education, including
washings and nxedicaj attendance, are in those houses 80
guineas a year up to the Fifth Form, and in and above that
Form, 90 guineas. Th^ education includes classics, mathe-
matics, French, writing, geog]:aphy, history, and divinity.

There are extra .cha>iges iox —

£ J. d.

GermaoL % % o

Chemistry 220

Singing 220

Drawing .............550

Drilling iio

In the few cases where a boy receives private tuition the
chaige made by the private tutor for each boy is from eight to
twelve guineas per annum, according to the pupil's place in
the School and his want of individual supervision.

The scale of diet supplied to the boarders is the same in all
the houses.

Breakfast at 8.45 a.m. (bread and butter^ and tea and coffee).
Dinner at i p.m. (hot and cold meat, and vegetables, and beer ;
and pudding and tart). Tea at 7 p.m. (bread and butter, tea
and coffee). Supper at 9.15 p.m. yS^r Upper boys ^;i/^ (bread
and butter and half a pint of beer).

28a I'he Great Schools o/En^nd.

Day Boys.'^The annual charge for Day boys is twenty-
guineas a year. For these boys, who average in number about
30 to 35, the Governors have recently provided two commo-
dious rooms, which they can occupy, if they please, between
school-hours. Day boys lodge with their parents or friends,
and attend School daily. They have all the advantages, as to
instruction, which the other bojrs have; are on the same
footing in School, and when out of School have equal access
to the play-ground.

There is no limit as to the age at which a boy may be
admitted into the School, except on the Foundation, where the
zge is fixed from 10 to 14.

Every boy before being admitted to the Foundation has to
pass an examination.

On admission as a Non-Foundationer no preliminary know-
ledge is absolutely required.

On the Foundation no boy may remain in the School beyond
the age of 19. In the case of Non-Foundationers there is no
prescribed limit

VII. Arrangement of the School^ Course of Studies^ &»c. —
The number of boys in Charter-house School has fluctuated
considerably within the last half-century : there were —

1111825 4^

1835 ........ 99

1845 187

185s 133

The number is now limited by an order of the Governors
to 200 ; and at present is 140.

The School is divided into Fortns, as follows :—

Sixth Fonn.

Third Form.

Upper Fifth ditto.

Second ditto.

Under Fifth ditto.

First ditto.

Fourth ditto.

Petties.

ShelL

and is arranged into separate Classical, Mathematical, and
French divisions, and in all the departments (with the excep-

Charter-house, 283

tion of the Fifth and Sixth Classical Forms) a boy rises mainly
by proficiency, though age is not disregarded.

In the Classical divisions, which form the principal divisions
of the School {e,g, when a boy is said to be in the Fourth Form
the term implies the Fourth Classical Form), the subjects which
are taught include geography^ history (ancient and modem), and
divinity. The boys take places at, and are marked, at the end
of each lesson, and according to the marks gained are arranged
at the end of the week in order of merit. The plan of adding
marks for attention and progress in the Mathematical divisions
to those gained in the Classical work has been lately adopted,
and appears to work well.

In the Sixth or highest Form in the Classical division boys
do not take places, but rise by seniority. Marks are given for
the work done, and a prize is bestowed each term for the
highest marks, the boys being arranged in classes according
to the marks gained. In the Fifth Form in the Classical
division, boys do not take places at each lesson. Marks are
given for work done, and changes in place ave made from time
to time, according to merit, though more consideration is given
to age than in the lower Forms. The reason assigned for
these exceptions is, that as boys in the Sixth And Fifth Forms
are those to whom certain i^ivileges are given, and from whom
the Monitors are selected; it is thought desirable that more
weight should be given to age, if accompanied with steadiness
of conduct and industry, than can be allowed to it in the Lower
Forms.

Mathematics. — Five of the six resident Masters take part in
the Mathematical as well as in the Classical teaching. On
Wednesday and Saturday the School is specially arranged for
Mathematics; and the marks gained in the week are added
to those obtained in the Classical division.

French and German, — Classics and Mathematics are an
indispensable part of the regular course of study with all.
French is now also an obligatory study with all Foundation
boys who do not learn German. For instruction in these
languages and in singing, no fee is exacted from Founda-

284 The Gnat Schools of Ef^and,

tioners; other Scholars pay three guineas annually for
German.

Drawing and Chemistry. — ^The charge for these accomplish-
ments is the same to all, namely, for the former 5/. 5/. per
annum; for the latter 2/. 2X.

Singing, — ^A Singing Master attends twice a week, and with
an Assistant teaches two classes in Part Sii^ng. All Founda-
tion Scholars in certain forms are required to attend, and an
annual pa3rment of 50/. is granted by the Governors for this
purpose. For those not on the Foundation, instruction is
provided at the cost of two guineas per annum, and many avail
themselves of the o|^rtunity thus given. A choir in chapel
is formed from the boys, and once a year a concert is given,
at which they are the only performers.

School-hours, — Hie time for assembling in School is
7.30 A.M. ; and all boys are required (except Day boys) to be
present at this time, unless they have leave of absence for
illness, &c

Day boys are required to be at School at 9.30 a.m.

On regular School days the intervals between the times of
School are from 8.30 to 9.30 and from 12 to 2, and after 4 p.m.
there is time for play till the time of *' locking in,** which
varies with the season of the yeaj. The principal time of
play is after 4 o'clock p.m. till the time of locking in; and
between 12 and i.

Promotion^ Exhibitions^ and Fiius, — There is one annual
examination in which the whole School shares. On this
examination the ascent from one Form to another depends.
If exceptionably dull, or indolent, a boy does not take this
step ; if exceptionably gifted, he obtains more rapid promotion.
The examiners are appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury,
and the subjects are Classics, Mathematics, and Divinity, while
papers are set for the higher Forms. Those boys who learn
French, German, drawing, or chemistry, are at the same time
examined on those subjects.

For the Foundation Scholars there is, in December, an addi-
tional examination in Classics and Arithmetic, and a report

Charter-house. 285

is also presented by the French Master of their progress and
conduct

At the annual examination prizes are awarded in all the
Classical, Mathematical, French, and German divisions, and
there are also prizes for Divinity, Composition, and Chemistry.
At this examination the prizes are awarded by the examiners
for proficiency in the work done in school^ whilst there are also
in the two higher forms prizes for private study^ some portions
of classical authors being given out by the Head Master as
the subjects for this latter examination. Prizes are also given
for Latin prose and verse, Greek iambics, and English verse
(done out of school).

Besides the valuable exhibitions already spoken of, limited to
Foundation Scholars, there is a " Havelock Exhibition*' of 20/.
annually, for proficiency in Latin, French, History (modem
and ancient), Geography, English Dictation, and Mathematics,
established in memory of Sir Henry Havelock.

This examination, open to all the School, is conducted by
special examiners appointed by the Master and Schoolmaster ;
a preference being given to boys intended for the army or for
a Government Office.

For those not on the Foundation there has been lately esta-
blished, in memory of the late Honourable J. C. Talbot, a
Scholarship, of 35/. a year, tenable at any one of the four
Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Dublin, or Dtu-ham; an
annual gold medal, and a prize of books. Competition for
these rewards is open to all boys who have been two years in
the School

Library, — In the house of the Foundation Scholars and in
each of the Boarder's houses there is an excellent library of
modem literature and works of reference. The management
of this library is entrusted to a Monitor in each house, subject
to the supervision of the Masters of such house, no book being
admitted into the libtaiy without their Unction. Every boy
pays an entrance subscription, and a small subscription each
term for the maintenance of the library in his own house, and
is entitled to have books from it. There is also a School

286 Tke Great Schools of En^and.

library, consisting of philological and classical works, to which
addition is made from time to time, and from which books
may be taken by leave of a Master.

Monitoriai System : Fagging, — The Monitorial system as in
operation at Charter-house School is highly spoken of by Mr.
Elwyn, the late Schoolmaster, in his evidence before the Royal
Commissioners. From the Foundation Scholars in the Fifth
and Sixth Forms, four are selected by the Schoolmaster, each
of whom in his turn employs himself in the maintenance of
order in School, and in the house where the Foundationers
board. In each of the boarding-houses, two or sometimes
three of the Non-Foundationers are chosen to perform similar
duties in the house where they reside, but they have no power
in the School

The boys so selected are called " Monitors," ahd it is their
duty to maintain order in the house, to call over names at
certain times, to read prayers, to suppress bullying, and to
report, if necessary, any gross case of wrong to the Masters.
If any inquiry is necessary at any time as to any wrong doing,
&c. it is usual for the Master of the house to prosecute such
inquiry through the Monitors. They exercise their powers
generally over all the boys, but more especially over those
of the Under School.

To these Monitors and to certain other boys of the Sixth
and Fifth Forms, the power of fagging their schoolfellows below
the Fourth Form is assigned. The services usually exacted are
making tea, running of errands, fagging at cricket, &c. Perhaps
from a healthy dread of public opinion, fagging does not exist
in its most odious or despotic forms at Charter-house, and the
junior boyB have not to perform those menial offices from
which, as mere children, they ought to be exempt.

Punishments at Charter-house are of the usual character —
flogging and impositions^ but the former now appears to be
inflicted less frequently and with more discrimination than at
some of the other Public Schools. On this subject it is satis-
factory to find that the severe remonstrance of the Royal
Commissioners has not been fruitless.

Charter-house. 287

Sports and Pastimes, — ^These comprise the customaiy out-
door recreations of English boys— cricket, football, racquets,
fives, quoits, &c. — ^for all of which the noble green, five acres
in extent, affords ample facility. There are also cloisters, in
which games are played when the weather is unfavourable.
No athletic exercises are taught as a regular part of the educa^
tion ; but a Drilling and Fencing Master attend, and there was,
we believe, a rifle-corps in the School, numbering 60 boys.^

The portion of the playing-ground at the rear of the School
was called ^^The Wilderness; " that at the firont of this building
is known as " The GreenJ* On a part of the wall near the fives-
court in the Green, the visitor will see painted in laige white
capital letters the word " Crown " — an inscription which is often
taken as an indication of Carthusian loyalty. Its origin is this :
— In the old coaching times the boys were in the habit of

^ In fonner times there was a curious custom at the School tenned
••pQllmg-m," by which the lower boys manifested their opinion of the
seniors in a rough but very intelligible fashion. One day in the year the
fags, like the slaves in Rome, had freedom, and held a kind of saturnalia.
On this privileged occasion they used to seize the upper boys one by one
and drag them from the playground into the Schoolroom, and accordingly
as the victim was popular or the reverse he was either cheered and
mildly treated, or was hooted, groaned at, and sometimes soundly cuffed.
The day selected was Good Friday ; and, although the practice was
nominally forbidden, the officials for many years took no measures to
prevent it. One ill-omened day, however, when the sport was at the best,
" the Doctor'' was espied approaching the scene of battle. A general sauve
qtdpeut ensued ; and in the huny of flight a meek and quiet lad (the Hon.
Mr. Howard), who happened to be seated on some steps, was crushed so
dreadfully that, to the grief of the whole school, he shortly after died«
"Pulling-in" was thenceforth sternly interdicted, though, except on the
principle of post hoc, ergo propter hoc, it is difficult to see what connexion
the game itself had wiUi the melancholy accident. Another custom no
longer tolerated was that of " boxing," as it was named. On Sundays
Charter-house Square used to be ft favourite resort of dty tradesmen and their
families ; and the great delight of the boys was to inveigle some of them
within the sacred precincts of the Green. When any had been thus en-
trapped, all the entrances were immediately fastened, and the unlucky
prisoners were baited and ridiculed till the sport often turned to earnest,
and ended in a general battle. On these occasions it is right to add, the
female visitors were never molested — unless by an excess of gallantry.

288 The Great Schools of En^and.

climbing up and sitting in the tree called ^^ Coach Tree^ to
watch the departure and arrival of the country coaches as they
rattled through Goswell Street This habit begot another,
which was to play at " Coaching," and the word " Crown" was
inscribed on the wall to indicate a certain inn on the Northern
road, where horses were to be changed and refreshment taken.
Tt is said to have been painted by the late Lord EUenborough
when a lad at the School, and that he was astonished and de-
lighted long years after, when, as Lord Chief Justice, he visited
the old place again, to find his inscription unobliterated

Holidays, — ^The boys are at School 37 weeks in the year.
There are three vacations annually : —

r. From the 2d week in May to the Tst or sd week in June • . 4 weeks.

2. From the 12th or 13th of Aaguat to the 23d or 24th of

September . 6 weeks.

3. From the I2th of December to the 1 6th of January . . . 5 weeks.

Occasionally, for some special reason, an extra week is
granted.

The usual holidays while the boys are at School, are two
half-days in the week, viz. on Wednesday and Saturday, but a
half-holiday is given whenever a boy belonging to the School
has obtained a Scholarship, or any other high distinction at
the Universities.

J^eligious Observances, — On the mornings of saints' da3rs, all the
boys attend the Church service in the chapel of the institution,
and all Foundation Scholars and boarders attend a service on
Saturday evening, and on Sunday morning and evening. The
Holy Communion is celebrated on the great festivals and on
the first Sunday in every month ; but independently of the
general celebrations, there is special Communion for the School
on the first and last Sunday in each Term.

The Bishop of London administers Confirmation, for which
the boys are specially prepared by the Schoolmaster.

Prayers selected from the Prayer-book are read by the Head
Master every morning on the assembling of the School ; and
at night before bedtime, a portion of the Bible is read to the
boys in each house by one of Uie Monitors.

•wm'WmH^K^^mm^f^m

Charter-house. 289

CHAPTER III.

BIOGRAPHICAL.
CelebreUed Cartkuttanu

The list of Schoolmasters, or, as in other great Schools they
are called, ^' Head Masters/' of Chaiter-house School, is as
follows : —

1614 Nicholas Grey. I 1 731 James Hotchkis.

1624 Robert Grey. j 1748 LewU Cnisius.

1626 William Middleton. j 1769 Samuel Berdmore.

1628 Robert Brooke. 1791 Matthew Raine.

1643 Samuel Wilson. 1 181 1 John Russell.

1 65 1 John Bouchee.
1654 Norris Wood.

1832 A. P. Saunders.
1853 Edward Elder.

1662 Thomas Watson. 1858 Richard Elwyn.

1679 Thomas Walker. 1864 William Haig Brown.

1728 Andrew Tooke.

The Register of Charter-house contains the names of nume-
rous pupils afterwards illustrious in various departments of
public life. Among these may be noted, — Richard Crawshay,
the poet;^ Richard Lovelace,^ Dr. Isaac Barrow,^ Die

1 Crawshay entered the School shortly after its foundation, ana stands
almost first in the long roll of Carthusian worthies. Proceeding from
Charter-house to Cambridge, he took his degree about 1632, and greatly
distinguished himself by the excellence of his Latin poetry ; poetry admired
by Cowley, and, in the next age, imitated by Pope. The charming epigram
on the miracle of Cana in Galilee, —

^^ ^" Vidit et erubuit, lympha pudica Deum," ^

was Crawshay 's ; Dryden translated it with equal elegance, —

** The modest water, touched with awe divine,
V.^ Beheld its God, and blushed itself to wine."

And his editors have given him (he credit of the original ; he is entitled

U only

apo The Great Schools of En^and.

John Davies, Master of Queen's College, Cambridge ; Dr.
Mark Hildersley, Bishop of Sodor and Man, who com-

only to the merit of the translatioii. Cntwshay was a Royalist, and sofifeivd
acutely for his steadfast adherence to his principles. Cowley, who, in 1646,
found him g^reatly distressed in France, and tried to mitigate his indigence,
introduced him to Queen Henrietta Maria, then herself a fugitive at Paris.
She gave him a letter to one of the sacred colleges at Rome, by whose
interest he was made Canon of Loretto. He died in 1650, leaving the
reputation of a very pious and a very learned man.

* Carthusians may reasonably be proud of this high-bred, accomplished,
and true-hearted cavalier. Bom in 1618, Lovelace, after receiving his
early training at Charter-house, proceeded in 1646 to Gloucester Hall
(now Worcester College), Oxford, where Antony ^ Wood assures us — he
was "accounted the most amiable and beautiful person that eye ever beheld. ^
On better authority we know that Lovelace combined with good birth — he
was the son and heir of Sir William Lovelace — a competent fortune, a
handsome person, polished intellect, and singularly agreeable manners.

Early in the Civil Wars, having been entrusted with the delivery of the
Kent county petition to the House of Commons for peace and the restora-
tion of the King's rights, he was committed to the Gate-house, where he
composed the song, **To Althea from Prison,'* which contains the cele-
brated stanza —

'* Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage ;
Minds innocent and quiet take
' That for an hermitage :

If I have freedom in my love,
' And in my soul am free.

Angels alone, that soar above,
Enjoy such Libertie."

About 1646, when his fortune had been seriously impaired by his loyalty,
he raised a regiment for the French King, commanded it, and was severely
wounded at Dunkirk. On his return to England, he had to encounter the
misery of learning that the lady whom he had celebrated as *' Lucasta,"
had, in the belief that he was slain in battle, married another lover. This
disappointment severely tried his fortitude ; but he in time consoled him-
self by wooing and wedding '* Althea." It was to the former lady. Miss
Lucy Sacheverell, that he addressed those beautiful verses, —

'• To LucASTA : Going to the Warres.
" Tell me not, sweet, I am unkinde ;

That from the nunnerie
Of thy chaste breast and quiet minde

To wane and armes I flie.

Charter-house, 291

pleted the arduous task, commenced by Bishop Wilson, of
translating the Scriptures into the Manx language; Joseph
Addison 3I Richard Steele;* John Wesley,^ the foundei:

'* True, a new mistress now I chase,
The first foe in the field ;
And with a stronger faith embrace
A sword, a horse, a shield.

" Yet this inconstancy is such,
As you too shall adore,
J could not love thee, dear, so much
Loi/d I not honour more, "

The decapitation of Charles I. the loss of his cause and his fortune, seems
at length to have broken the spirit of the once gay poet He did not live
to witness the Restoration, and is reported to have died in circumstances
of abject misery,

' Barrow died at the early age of forty-seven. On his return to England,
after making a tour in Europe, his studies branched into a variety of
directions. He was at first Professor of Greek at Cambridge; he then
became Professor of the Mathematical Sciences there. He was the pre-
ceptor of Newton (who succeeded him in the Mathematical Chair), Master
of Trinity College, and, shortly before his death, was chosen Vice-Chan-
cellor of Cambridge University.

Barrow*s mathematical discoveries and publications were alone sufficient
to make him famous. But he is not less illustrious as a divine, an orator,
and a wit No English writer surpasses him in the grandeur and sugges-
tiveness of his ideas ; few have equalled him in the majesty and massiveness
of his style.

^ Addison was bom in 1672, and educated partly at Lichfield— of which
city his father was dean — ^and partly at Charter-house. Dr. Johnson, in his
biography, alludes to a tradition that the future statesman, poet, and essayist
was, when a boy, not only concerned in, but the actual leader of, a
'* barring-out,'' or school rebellion; and Miss Aikin relates that, being in
his boyhood apprehensive of chastisement for some petty fault, he ran away
from his father's house, and fled into the fields, where he fed on berries and
slept in a hollow tree, till he was discovered and brought home. Both these
stories are dubious. From Charter-house he proceeded to Oxford, where
he entered at Queen's, and thence removed to Magdalen College, of which
he was eventually elected a Fellow. He remained at Oxford about ten years,
and became an elegant scholar ; being proficient, however, rather in the
Latin than in the Greek poets and historians. His English verses, addressed
to Lord Somers, and a Latin ode on the peace of Ryswick, dedicated to

U 2 Mr,

v.

392 Great Sdutois of Sngland.

Mr. Montigae, €sA broaght bim into nodoe ; the Crown gntnted him a.
pcnsioa of 500^ and he tnTeiled for scvenl years in France^ Holland, acd
Italy. Rctnming in 1703, he made aoqnaintaaoe with the chief wits aicd
men of letten of the time, and became a member of the cdebrated Kit-K^t
Clnb. Without paternal prorision or a profession, Addison was now fcr
some time in pecuniary difficnlties, bat the victory of Blenheim was deemed
an especial triomph by the Whigs, and their leader, Godolphin, was per-
suaded by Lord Hali£u to employ Addison to celebrate it. He accordinglv
wrote 7%^ Campaign^ a poem now almost forgotten, bat then thought a
master-piece, which was lewarded with a oommissionership in the Cnstoms.
In 1708 he was elected M. P. for Malmesbory, after which he was appomted
soccessivdy Under-Secretary of State for Ireland, Secretary for Ireland,
and Home Secretary. Hb sobseqnent career, political and literary, b tou
well known to need recapitnlation here. Addison was a feeble politician ;
he was not a profound philosopher, and he was not a great poet ; but as a
prose writer he has a charm and grace which are incomparable. Voltaire,
who spoke with insufferable shallowness and silliness about Shakespeare,
has some remarks written in a somewhat different spirit on Addison's famous
tragedy of Caici — "Addison was the first Englishman who produced a
reasonable tragedy. I should pity him if he had pat nothing but reason
into his work. His tragedy of Caio is written from the beginning to the
end with that masculine and eneigetic elegance of which Comeille first
presented us with such beautiful examples, in his unequalled style. It seems
to me that Cato is fitted for an audience somewhat philosophical and
very republican. I doubt if our young ladies and fops would have liked
Cato, in a morning-gown, reading the ' Dialogues of Plato,* and making
his reflections on the immortality of the souL Yet, in this tragedy of a
patriot and a philosopher, the part of Cato appears to me one of the noblest
personages to be found in dramatic literature." It is an odd thing that
while Colo was censured at Oxford as the production of a partizan, it
was translated into Italian and played at Florence ; rendered into Latin
by the Jesuits of St Omer, and personated by their pupils. In England
the play has long since ceased to be performed, and is with justice looked
upon merely as an el^;ant dramatic poem.

In 1 716, Addison wedded the Dowager-Countess of Warwick; at this
period he had become affluent, if not wealthy. He had been made Secre-
tary of State, and a long life of happiness seemed in store for him. His
health, however, broke down. Tradition, rather than anything like evidence,
imputes to the Countess that her hauteur rendered her husband's existence
insupportable to him; he resigned his post as Secretary of State, de-
voted the short residue of his life to the composition of a treatise on the
Evidences of Christianity, and died on the 17th of June, 17 19.

' Steele, bom in Dublin, 1671, the son of an Irish barrister — who seems
to have acted as secretary to the first Duke of Ormond — was left almost in
babyhood an orphan. There are few things more pathetic in his admirable

Charter-house, 293

i^ri tings than the account he gives of his being taken, when qnite a child,
into the room where his dead father lay — '* I remember I went into the
room where his body lay, and my mother sat weeping alone by it. I had
my battledore in my hand, and fdl a-beating the coffin, and calling ' Papa !*
for, I know not how, I had some slight idea that he was locked up there.
My mother catched me in her arms, and, transported beyond all patience
of the silent g^ef she was before in, she almost smothered me in her em-
brace, and told me, in a flood of teais, ' Papa could not hear me, and would
play with me no more ; for they were going to put him under ground,
whence he could never come to us again.* "

The Duke of Ormond, the gallant old cavalier whose feeble voice was
raised, as we have seen, in defence of the privileges of Charter-house, ol
which he was a governor, sent the forlorn child to school there, where he
remained until he entered Merton College, Oxford. At school and at the
University, Steele was the companion and friend of Addison, though two
associates more dissimilar — save that neither was rich, and both loved
literature and wine — it would, perhaps, have been impossible to meet with
at the period. Steele was irregular in his application, and, like S. T. Cole-
ridge, a century later, he quitted collie for the saddle of a dragoon horse.
Both entered as privates, but Steele soon obtained a commission. The
army, however, did not suit him, and he turned dramatist. After a while,
through the interest of Addison, he was appointed Gazetteer. In 1709,
powerfully aided by Addison, Steele commenced The TatltTy which speedily
brought him into notice, and he was, in 171 1, made one of the Commis-
sioners of the Stamp Office. In the following year he edited the Spectator^
and to him we are indebted for the original conception of Sir Roger de
Coverley*s immortal "Club," and for very many of the ablest articles in
this famous collection. The Guardian and the Englishman followed, both
conducted by Steele. On the accession of Geoige I. Steele was knighted,
and after the suppression of the Rebellion made one of the Commis-
sioners of the forfeited estates in Scotland. He was now in a fair way to
fortune ; but his habits of extravagance and speculation swallowed up his
acquisitions as fast as he obtained them. In 1722, his comedy of the
Conscious Levers^ which had a considerable run, averted for a time the
inevitable ruin of its versatile but reckless author. He was compelled,
however, ere long, to retire into Carmarthenshire to economise, and there
he died, in poverty, September ist, 1739.

In an artistic sense Steele, as a writer, was undoubtedly inferior to his
friend and colleague, Addison, but his writings have the advantage of being
far more natoraL Addison has, perhaps, the same ease, but he has not
the same unstudied ease. He has more delicacy and refinement, but he
has less tenderness and spontaniety than Steele, who utters his fullest,
freshest feelings without labour, and without any appearance of art

' Nearly fifty years after Wesley quitted Charter-house for Oxford, he
chanced to revisit the old quadrangles, and thus commemorates them in his

yournal^

^94 ^^ Gnat Sdwds of England.

of Wcslcyan Methodism ; Sir William Blackstoxi;^ Dr.
John Jortis,* Dr. Martin Bexsox, formeriy "Bishop of
Gloucester; Monck, late Bishop of Gloucester, one of our
best Greek scholars ; Sir Simon le Blanc, one of the late
Judges of the King's Bench. There was a time when this
School could claim as her sons the then Primate of EnglancL
Dr. Manners Sutton ; the Prime Minister of England, the
Earl of Liverpool;^ and the Chief Justice of England,

Journal^ August 8, 1757: — *'I took a walk in the Charter-house. I
wondered that all the squares and boildings, and eq>ecially the sdiocd-boys,
looked so little. But this b easily accounted for. I was so little myself
when I was at school, and measured all about me hy myself. Accordingly,
the upper boys being then bigger than myseli^ teemed to me very big and tall,
quite contraiy to what they appear now, when I am taller and bigger than
they. I question if this is not the real ground of the common imagination
that our forefathers, and in general men in past ages, were much larger than
now ; an imagination current in the worid eighteen hundred years ago.*'

^ In youth Sir William Blackstone devoted himself to literature, but gave
small promise of greatness in that walk. He then studied law, and was
called to the Bar, but failed as an advocate from his want of fluency and
readiness. As Vinerian Professor of Law at Oxford, he found his true
place. Entering Parliament, he was not more successful there than at the
Bar. A judgeship which he accepted was better suited to his taste and
talents. His famous work, the CommerUarUs on Hu Laws of En^and^
is an admirable production, but it is valuable for its information rather than
for its philosophy, and has little of the genius or insight which distinguishes
Montesquieu's kindred production.

' John Jortin, bom in 1698, was the son of a French refugee, and the
author of numerous works, now too little read. A French critic passes the
fallowing warm eulogium on his genius and learning : — '* Poet, Theologian,
Philosopher, Jortin has left some works scarcely known to any except a few
learned men capable of appreciating the classical beauty of his poetry, the
profundity of his researches, and the penetration of his mind in the obscurest
questions of metaphysics. His style, admirable for its simplicity, recalls
that of Xenophon, which he had taken as a model.*'

' This statesman, bom in 1770, was elevated to a great position, but he
did not exhibit great qualities. His patriotism, though earnest, was narrow,
and during the fifteen years of his premiership England was first covered
with a glory which Lord Liverpool had done nothing to promote, and then
plunged into a distress which he did nothing to prevent and but litde to
relieve. His virtues were respectable, but his talents never rose above
mediocrity.

Charter-house. ^95

Lord EllenboroucSh.^ Basil Montagu,^ Baron Alderson*,

^ Son of the eminent Bishop Law, Edward Law, afterwards Lord
Ellenborough, was bom in 1750, and entered at Charter-house in 1761.
There he continued six years, and rose to be Captain of the School. Lord
Campbell tells us that he used to say that while enjoying that dignity he
felt himself a more important character than when he was Chief Justice of
England, and a Cabinet Minister. At eighteen he left Charter House for
Peter-house College, Cambridge. Here the brilliance of his talents and
the fierceness of his temper were alike conspicuous.' His father, who
destined him for the Church, would consent to his going to the Bar only on
condition that he first obtained a Fellowship. Law entered, therefore, at
Trinity College, Cambridge, won a Fellowship, and then entered Lincoln's
Inn. He was called in 1780 and quickly forced himself into eminence. In
1787 he was retained for Warren Hastings, against the impeachment led by
Edmund Burke. In 1792, after a five years' preliminary contest, he rose to
lead the defence, and in 1795, ^^^^^ ^ ^^^ o^i ^ speak more accurately —
after a lingering, tedious, and discursive investigation, extending over nine
years, he had the satisfaction of seeing his client acquitted by a large
majority. He now, to quote an expression of his tutor Paley, '*rose like
an aeronaut" Gliding gracefully from Whiggery into Toryism, he became
Attorney-General under Addington, entered Parliament, and was soon after
selected to succeed Lord Kenyon as Chief Justice, and raised to the peerage
as Baron Ellenborough. He died in 1 81 8, cherishing to the last warm
feelings of gratitude for his early school. There he had began his bright
career, and there he desired, when the race was run, he might repose. His
wish of course was gratified.

"In the Foundei^s vault are deposited the remains of

Edward Law, Lord Ellenborough

(Son of Edmund Law, Lord Bishop of Carlisle),

Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench

from April, 1802, to Nov. 181 8,

and a Governor of the Charter-house.

He died December 13th, 181 8, in the 69th year of his age ;

and, in grateful remembrance of

the advantages he had derived through life from his

Education
upon the Foundation of the Charter-house,
desired to be buried in this church."

* Basil Montagu, in early life the favourite circuit companion of Sir
f James Macintosh and the libend friend of Southey, was the second son of
I the Earl of Sandwich. His mother was Miss Reay, celebrated for her
t beauty, still more for her tragical fate. She was shot by the Rev. J. S.
Hackman, an accepted but eventually a rejected lover, as she stepped into
! her

S96 The Great Schools of England,

Sir Cresswell Cresswell, and General Havelock,^ and
the late Sir Henry Russell Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of Indian Judicature; William Makepeace Thackeray,
the great novelist ; and John J^eech, the well-known artist,
are proud names for Charter-house. Of living Carthusians,
there are, — Bishop Thirlwall,* of St. David's, the historian
of Greece, and his eminent rival, George Grote;' Lord

her carriage to return from Covent Garden Theatre. Hackman discharged
a second pistol at his own breast, but ineffectually, and he was tried,
convicted, and, refusing all mediation on the part of Lord Sandwich,
executed. The young Basil was brought up at Charter-house, which he left
for Christ's College, Cambridge. He was afterwards called to the Bar,
where he acquired distinction and considerable property as an advocate ;
but he achieved a higher and more enduring reputation by his excelloit
edition of Bacon's works.

1 It is not as a great general that Havelock is renowned — ^for he had but
scant opportunity for the display of military talent — ^but he had an angelic
piety, a sublime sense of duty, and that chivalrous devotedneas which is
the health, the strength, the r^[eneration of communities. Originally he
was intended for the Bar, and after entering the Middle Temple he became
a fellow-pupil of the late Judge Talfourd in the chambers of a well-known
special pleader. Talfourd and Havelock appear to have been warm friends,
and from the future author of lon^ Havelock is said to have imbibed a love
of general literature, and of the poetry of Wordsworth in particular, which
he never lost. The death of his mother, followed by some domestic
difficulties, put an end to his legal studies, and at the persuasion of his elder
brother, then in the army, he exchanged the wig and gown for the uniform
of the rifle brigade.

' It is mainly to his history of Greece that Bishop Thirlwall owes his
fame. This work has been commended for conscientious and scholar-like
research much more than for the qualities which mark the great writer, and
it is to scholars that it will, perhaps, always be chiefly attractive. It is free
however, from the iconoclastic tendencies, the destructive paradoxes, the
reckless theories, by which so many historical works have been distinguished
since the time of Niebuhr, which of itself is highly praiseworthy.

' This eminent historian, after finishing his education at Charter-house,
entered the banking firm of which his father was one of the principal
partners. Having found his way into Parliament shortly after the passing
of the Reform Bill, Mr. Grote distinguished himself for ten years by his
strenuous advocacy of the ballot. Finding his efforts fruitless, he retired
from public life to devote himself to the history of Greece. The first of
twelve volumes appeared in 1846, the last in 1S56. A French critic

Charter-house, 297

Justice Turner ; Bishop Spencer, Chancellor of St. Paul's
Cathedral ; Dr. Waddington, Dean of Durham, and his
brother, Horatio Waddington, Secretary for the Home Depart-
ment ; the Earl of Dalhousie ; the Right Hon. T. Milner
Gibson, M.P. ; Bernal Osborne, M.P. ; T. Collins, M.P. ;
Sir J. D. Harding, Queen's Advocate ; the Archdeacon
Chewton ; the Dean of Peterborough ; the Dean of
Christchurch ; the Dean of Durham ; Sir Erskine Perry ;
Sir Joseph Arnould, Judge of the Supreme Court of Bombay,
and the Rev. Thomas Mozeley.^

thus sums up an excellent review of this work: — "Nothing can be more
luminous than his picture of the gradual development of the Athenian
Democracy. To seize so completely and so correctly the manifold phe-
nomena under which social, life manifested itself in Greece, Mr. Grote
needed an erudition extensive, profound, minute; an acquaintance with
men and with affairs ; a familiar knowledge of the struggles of parties, and
of the plan of constitutional institutions ; and; finally, to unite the erudition
of a German professor to the practical science of a man of the world, and
of a statesman of Great Britain."

* The following verses, in which the writer has contrived to hitch in some
of the most notable names among Charter-house scholars cleverly enough,
appeared in a little work, called The Carthusian : —

*' Health to all good Carthusians t may full many a one shine
In honour's list ; all in * the.breast's happy sunshine ! '
Still may Barrows, Steeles, Addisons, Blackstones, /«/«rr
From their ranks arise, magna exempla daturi
Respitiant an Ellenbdrough's high legal station,
A Liverpool, guiding the helm of the nation ;
A Manners, if e'er into Chancery they wish to come,
A Sutton, of Canterbury the archi-episcopum.
In yef looking back on our list cA primores^
Be Westmoreland reckoned among the old Tories ;
And, more recent inscribed on the roll of our fame,
Be Wharncliffe's high talent and unspotted name.
Next Cam's quondam professor of Geeek ; and quis nescit.
The Carthusian Monk did much more than profess iL
\ Then one in whose praise none among us will falter soon,
j The judge, lawyer, scholar— our schoolfellow, Alderson."

298 TTke Greai Schoois of England,

EDUCATIONAL STAFF OF CHARTERHOUSE SCHOOL

IN 1865.

Head Masier— Key, W. Haig Brown, LL.D.

Second Master— Viey. F. Poynder, M.A.

Assistant Masters.

Rev. S. F. WUliams, M.A,
Rev. H. R. Dodd, M.A.

Mr. F. G. Inge, B.A.
Mr. T. Stevens, B.A*

French Masters — M. Marriette, M. Poclet
German Master — Dr. Weil.
Drawing Master — Mr. Robertson.
Writing Meuter—I&T. Stewart
Music Master — Mr. Robinson.
Singing Master — Mr. HuUah.
Fencing Master — Mr. Angelo.

Charter-house, 299

CHAPTER IV.

SPECIAL RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL

COMMISSIONERS.

Summary of Recommendations,

All the General Recommendations (Part I.) appear to be
applicable to Charter-house School.

We add the following special recommendations : —

1. That the number of 16 Governors should be forthwith
increased to 20 by the election, as new Governors, of four
persons distinguished for literary or scientific attainments ;
that the next four vacancies should not be filled up, unless
occasioned by the death or retirement of any of such four
persons, or of persons elected in their room ; and that in
future one-fourth at least of the 16 Governors should always
be chosen with special reference to attainments in literature or
science.

2. That whenever the permanent body of 16 Governors is
complete, seven should be a quorum ; and that whenever it is
not complete, or so long as the number of Governors pro-
visionally exceeds 16, a proportion not less than half of the
actual number should constitute a quorum.

3. That all the Scholarships on the Foundation should be
thrown open to the unrestricted competition of boys between
the ages of 11 and 14, according to a scheme to be framed by
the Governors with the assistance of the Head Master. Cases
in which a nomination has been actually given or promised
should be excepted from the operation of this change.

300 The Great Schools of England.

4. That no declaration should be in future required from
the parents of candidates for admission to the Foundation,
either as to their intention of sending their sons to the Uni-
versity, or their inability to do so without the aid of an
Exhibition.

5. That the Exhibitions at the Universities should be divided
into two classes, one of 80/. the other of 60/. per annum^ and
be apportioned to the candidates according to merit.

6. That the examination for these Exhibitions should be
conducted, as at present, by examiners unconnected with the
School, and apply to the whole of the school work ; the pro-
ficiency to be tested by marks on the same principles as those
which regulate promotion from class to class.

7. That the town boys should be admitted to compete for
these Exhibitions.

8. That a distinct fund should be formed, to be called the
" School Fund," and a separate account be in future kept of all
receipts and expenditure relating to the School, as distinct
from those connected with the pensioners, the general manage-
ment of the estates, or other matters under the superintendence
and control of the Governors.

9. That all tuition fees should be paid into this fund.

10. That in future the sum of 26/. 51. should be paid by or
for each boy as a tuition fee, such sum to cover instruction in
every subject which will form part of the regular course of
study; and that the Governors should pay this sum to the
credit of the School Fund for each Foundation Scholar.

1 1. That if after the payment of the salaries from the School
Fund in such proportions as to the Governors may seem fit,
any surplus exist, it should be applied either in the augmenta-
tion of salaries, or in some way which is conducive to the per-
manent benefit of the School

12. That no extra payment be required for any of the
branches of study for which provision has been made, except
that if private tuition be required in any of them, the sum of
10/. per annum^ in addition to the 26/. 5^. above mentioned,
be paid to the private tutor.

Charter-house. 301

13. That the sum of 10L should be chaiged for boarding,
to include washing and ordinary medical attendance.

14. That in future as regards the Foundation Sdiolars, the
chaiges for private washing and for the matron should be
borne by the Governors.

15. That no boy be admitted into the School after 15 years
of age, or remain there after 19, and that the age of admission
to the Foundation should be between 11 and 14.

16. That public speeches should be delivered and prize
compositions recited in ancient or modem languages at stated
times in the presence of such friends of the School as may
wish to attend.

17. That duties of a menial character, e,g. that of keeping
up the fires of the three sitting rooms occupied by the Foun-
dation Scholars, should be performed by a servant instead of
a fag.

18. That no fagging should be allowed between eight and
ten in the evening.

19. That an improved arrangement should be made as to
the supply of tea to the Foundation Scholars.

20. That meat should be supplied twice a day to all the
boys.

21. That as regards locking the bedrooms, if it be deemed
necessary, the head boy of the room should, in every case, have
a key.

22. That there should, as far as possible, be a gaslight burn-
ing all night in the passages of the boarding-houses, and of the
building occupied by the Foundation Scholars.

23. That the attention of the Governors should be directed
to the desirableness of making an arrangement by which all
the services attended by the boys in the chapel may partake of
a choral character.

24. That in regard to the benefices which are in the gift of
the Governors, all persons who have done service to the School
as Master, Usher, or Assistant Master be henceforth deemed
eligible, though they may not have been educated there as
Foundation Scholars or otherwise.

I

303 Tke Great Schools of Et^and.

V HARROW.

"STET FORTUNA DOMUS."

CHAPTER I.— HISTORICAL.

*' A litel schole of Cristen folk ther stood
Doun at the ferther ende, in which ther were
Children an hepe y-comen of Cristen blood
That lered in that scoli yer by yere,
Such maner doctrine as men used there ;
That is to say ; to syngen and to rede,
As smale children doon in her childhede.**

Chaucer ( The Prioresses Tale) .

The foundation of the now famous Harrow School is due to
the benevolence of John Lyon, a yeoman, bom at Harrow,
who, many years before his death, conceived the project of
establishing a Free School in his native village. For this pur*
pose, as early a^u57 y he procured a charter and letters patent
from Queen ElizaBetl^ recognising his foundation and the sta-
tutes which hepTOposed for the government of the institution,
and constituting the trustees of his property and their succes-
sors by election, a body corporate under the title of "The
Keepers and Governors of the School called the Free Grammar
School of John Lyon, in the village of Harrow-upon-the-Hill,
in the countie of Middlesex."

The first six governors appointed were gentlemen of standing
in the parish, and many particulars of their families and estates,

>i

Harrow, 303

have been duly preserved and handed down to us. They
were,

Gilbert Gcrrard, Esq. The Attoraey-General.
William Gerrard, Gentleman.
John Page, of Wemley,
Thomas Page, of Sudbury Court.
Thomas Redding, of Pinner.
Richard Edlyn, of Woodhall.

Of the Founder himself, however, scarcely anything is
known. He is described as " a yeoman," and, from some expres-
sions found among his testamentary documents, his property
appears to have been acquired by his own exertions* There
is evidence, too, that for many years before the foundation of
his School this estimable man appropriated twenty marks a
year to the education of young children. He died in 1592, and
was buried in the nave of the church. Above the gravestone
is his effigy in brass and the following inscription : — " Here
lyeth buried the bodye of John Lyon, late of Preston, in this
parish, yeoman, deceased the nth day of October, in the yeare
of our Lord 1592 ; who hath founded a free grammar schoole
I in the parish to have continuance for ever, and for maintenance
thereof, and for releyffe of the poore, and of some poore schol-
lers in the Universytes, repairinge of highwayes, and other ^od
andLjcharitable uses, hath made conveyance of lan^s of good
value to a corporation granted for that purpose. Prayse be to
the authour of all goodnesse who makes us m3mdful to follow
his good exam£le."

XTntiilEe year 18 13 this monument was the only memorial
of the Founder of Harrow School. In that year several noble-
men and gentlemen educated there, subscribed sufficient funds
to erect a mural monument " in testimony of their grateful
respect for the memory of John Lyon," for which Dr. Parr
furnished the inscription. v

Although Mr. Lyon obtained his[Charter in isyiJit was not

instructions to the Governors for the

and promulgated the curious " orders,

statutes, and rules" which he had prepared for its regulation.

These Statutes are drawn up with remarkable precision and

^ Although Mr. Lyon ol
(till i590^^hat he issued
Netection of the School,

V

304 The Great Schools of England.

comprehensiveness, and are extremely interesting, though too
long to be given in fuIL
They begin as follows : —

" ist. My willy mind, and intent is, and by these presents I do ordain and
appoint. That the said Governors and their successors or the more part of
them shall yearly after the decease of me the said John Lyon and Johan my
wife, in the week before Easter, assemble themselves together at Harrow
upon the Hill, either in the house that shall be made and appointed for the
said Free Grammar School, or else in some other convenient place there ;
and upon their assembly they shall first cause all the Ordinances and. Rules
touching the said School to be read openly, and thereupon to consider.
And, if they shall find any fault or offence committed contrary to the true
meaning of any of these Rules or Ordinances, then they shall with all
expedition cause the same to be reformed.

''and. lUm^ the said Governors at their first assembly, next after the
decease of me the said John Lyon and Johan my wife, shall elect and choose
Two of themselves, to be Surveyors of the lands, tenements, goods and
possessions assured to the said Governors, which Two Surveyors shall con-
tinue in their office by the space of Tvm years together, except there shall
be some reasonable or urgent cause to the contrary ; and, after the <m£ of the
said Two years, the said Governors at their like assembly shall choose Two
others of themselves to be Surveyors as aforesaid, and so at the end of
every Two years shall make like election for ever.

" 3rd. And their Office shall be, to survey all the said lands, tenements,
goods, and possessions of the said Corporation, and to see that the fanners
and occupiers thereof do perform their covenants, and that no waste or
destruction be done or made upon the same. And also, to see that the
Schoolmaster and Usher do their duties, and that the Scholars be well
taught and used." " ■

He ordains that the Governors, or a majority of them, shall,
within one half-year of his own and his wife's death, appoint
an able man, not under the degree of a Master of Arts, to be
School-Master, and another, not under the degree of Bachelor
of Arts, to be Usher. The stipend of the former to be
26/. 13X. 4//., with 3/. 6j. 8^. annually for firing : that of the latter
to be 13/. 6^. 8^., with the same allowance for fuel He directs
the Governors to procure thirty good, learned, and godly
sermons to be preached yearly for ever in the Parish Church of
Harrow, at convenient times, for which 10/. annually are to
be paid. The Schqoljna§ter to preach the same, if in the
judgment of the Governors he is capable of the duty.

Harrow. 305

He provides for the distribution of 20/. annually among sixty
of the poorest householders of the parish ; and orders a sum
of 20/. to be bestowed upon four poor Scholars towards their
maintenance, two at Oxford and two at Cambridge. Such
Scholars to be chosen out of the School, preference being given
to children of his own kin, and then to such as are most meet
"y^r towardnesSy poverty ^ and painfulness,^

The Schoolmaster and Usher of the School are always to be
unmarried, and while they remain so and behave themselves
well and discreetlyThey are to enjoy their places. He directs
"that if any question, ambiguity, or doubt shall happen to arise
concerning his Statutes, or on any other subject connected
with his property or the School, and the Governors are equally
divided thereon, the two oldest among them shall lay the ques-
tion before the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose decision shall
be final.

In the Rules which pertain immediately to the management
of the School, it is ordered that the first thing which shall be
done in the morning after the boys assemble, and the last thing
before they depart, is to hear prayers distinctly read by some
Scholar whom the Master shall appoint This regulation has
never been dispensed with.

The fourth and fifth rules regard the hours of attendance,
the behaviour of the Scholars, &c. Nine clauses are devoted
to the specification of books to be read and exercises to be
performed, and to the division of boys into classes. The books
enumerated are, for the most part, Greek orators and historians
— the only Greek poet mentioned being Hesiod, and some of
the chief Latin verse and prose writers.

Several of the books specified have long since become
quite obsolete either as vehicles of instruction or amusement.
No English book is named except the Prayers of the Church of
England, and even these are to be repeated in Latin as soon
as the Scholar shall have attained competent proficiency in
that language.^

The amusements of the Scholars are restricted " to driving

* Carlisle's Endowed Grammar Schools^ vol. ii. p. 137.

X

3o6 The Great Schools of England.

a top, tossing a hand-ball, running, shooting, and no

other."

The modes of correction are specified, and it is ordained

that those who are unapt to learn, shall, after one year's pains

/ have been taken with them unprofitably, be sent from the

School.

The twenty-second rule provides that no ^^ girls shall be
^y received to be taught in the same School."

One of the rules enacts " that the Schoolmaster may receive,
over and above the youth of the inhabitants within the parish,
so many Foreigners \i,e. strangers] as the whole number may-
be well taught and applied, and the place can conveniently
contain, by the judgment and discretion of the Governors.
And of the Foreigners he may take such stipends and wages as
he can get, except that they be of the kindred of John Lyon,
the Founder. So that he take pains with all indifferently, as
well of the Parish as Foreigners, as well of poor as of rich."

To this enactment, and to a further enabling clause conceived
in the same sagacious spirit, which empowered the Governors
for the time being to amend, alter, or abolish any of the Rules,
as the change of time might render necessary, Harrow School
may be said to owe its greatness. But for these provisions,
the benevolent purposes of the Founder would have gone nigh
to become a dead letter. They prove that while John Lyon in-
tended that a gratuitous education should be within reach of all
the children of Harrow, he contemplated as probable a wide
extension of the advantages accruing from his liberality. Had
the benefaction been strictly limited to the Founder's parish,
the School would probably have been confined to the narrow
limits of a parochial free School, or at most would have
reached to the level of a fifth or sixth rate provincial seminary.

Attached to the Statutes are the following articles, which the
Master was required to recite to the parents who brought
their children to be received upon the Foundation : —

1. " You shall submit your Child in all things, to be ordered
according to the discretion of the Schoolmaster and Usher.

2. " You shall find your Child sufficient paper, ink, pens.

Harrow, 307

books, candles for winter, and all other things at any time
requisite for the maintenance of his study.

3. ''You shall allow your Child, at all times, bow-shafts,
bow-strings, and a bracer, to exercise shooting.

4. " You shall see diligently, from time to time, that your
Child shall keep duly the ordinary hours and times in coming
to the School, and in diligent keeping, and continuing his
study.

5. ^ You shall be content to receive your Child, and to put
him to some profitable occupation, if after one yeaf s experience
he shall be found unapt to the learning of grammar. If your
Child shall use at sundry times to be absent from School,
unless by reason of sickness, he shall be utterly banished from
the School"

«

During the first half-century of its existence, the progress of
Harrow School forms a remarkable contrast to its subsequent
advance. Four petty Scholarships of 5/. per annum each, were
quite inadequate to the support of their possessors at the
University even in the humblest grade of Students. Add to
this, that the course of training which rendered boys eligible
for these benefactions was somewhat expensive; instruction
indeed, but only instruction, was provided gratuitously by
the Founder; but for board, lodging, clothing, books, and
even for such minutiae as pens, ink, and paper, the parents or
friends of the boys were responsible. No wonder, therefore,
that Harrow long languished in obscurity. About the year
1660 it seems to have occurred to the Governors and to a
singularly able and enterprising Master, the Rev. William
Home, of King's College, Cambridge, that Harrow School,
though its slender revenues could afford no adequate emolu-
ment to a man of talent, might yet be a nucleus around which
competent preceptors might attract " foreigners " as boarders,
from many of the leading families in England. The attempt
was made, how successfully the annals of the School may tell.
Its numbers have, indeed, fluctuated considerably, as its Head
Masters were more or less learned, " apt to teach," or popular,
but in the main, Harrow has gained, and appears likely to

X 2

/

3o8 TTie Great Schools of England.

retain, a place among the Public Schools of England second
to none in scholarship, and in numbers second to Eton
only.

Mr. Home, whose monument in the chancel of Harrow
School describes him as ^^ preceptor strenuus^^ died in 1685,
and was succeeded by another Fellow of King*s, the Rev.
Thomas Brian, who held the Mastership for the long period
of thirty-nine years. He was followed by the Rev. James Cox,
of Merton College, Oxford. Dr. Cox married the daughter of
his predecessor, a woman of remarkable beauty. His domestic
relations were unhappy, and disputes with the Governors of
the School embittered his life, and drove him to resign the
appointment many years before he died. The next four
Masters were all men of unusual attainments, and they did
much to elevate the reputation of the School The first of
them, Dr. Thackeray, Fellow of King's, Chaplain to the Prince
of Wales, and an Assistant Master of Eton, introduced the
Eton system of education, a system which, with slight modifi-
cations, has prevailed ever since. In Dr. Thackeray's Master-
ship the number of Scholars never exceeded 130, but many of
them subsequently obtained such distinction, as reflects high
honour on their instructor. The successor of Dr. Thackeray
was the Rev. Robert Sumner, also of King*s, a man of warm
benevolence and brilliant parts. Under his sway the Scholars
at one time numbered 250, among them Parr, Sheridan, and
Sir William Jones. This eminent and excellent Master was
suddenly carried off by apoplexy, in his forty-second year. There
is a monument to him in the south transept of Harrow Church,
with an epitaph by Dr. Parr, then an Assistant in the School.

On the death of Dr. Sumner, Parr became a candidate for
the Head Mastership, in opposition to Dr. Benjamin Heath,
founding his claims on being born in the town, educated in
the School, and for many years one of the Assistants. The
boys unanimously petitioned the Governors in favour of Parr,
entreating that Harrow " might be no longer considered as a
mere appendix to Eton."^ The Governors, however, elected

^ An allusion to the fact that of six Head Masters at Harrow betweoi

Harrow. 309

Dr. Heath, whereupon the whole School broke at once into
rebellion, assailed the Governors with showers of stones, which
shattered the windows of the hotel where they were assembled,
destroyed the carriage of one of their body, and but for the \y^
exertions of Mr. Roderick, a popular Assistant, and one of
Parr's most devoted adherents, would have done still more
mischief. Finally, Parr threw up his appointment, and ac-
companied by about forty of the young rebels as pupils, with-
drew to Stanmore, a village near to Harrow, where for several
years he kept up a rival establishment on his own account

Dr. Heath, by whom it was no disgrace to be defeated, and
to whom Parr, even when most exasperated against the
Governors, in nowise imputed his disappointment, succeeded
Dr. Sumner under great disadvantages. In a short time
afterwards he increased his unpopularity by abolishing the
ancient Harrovian custom of shooting for the Silver Arrow,
alleging that such pastimes interrupted the regular business of
the School, and attracted the attendance of disorderly persons.
For the long-cherished archery Dr. Heath substituted " The
Harrow Speeches," which were originally delivered by the
ten Monitors and by six boys of the Sixth Form, on the first
Thursdays in May, June, and July.

Dr. Heath's utmost efforts did little more than keep the
numbers of the School from diminution. He found 230, and
left 250 Scholars there. His successor. Dr. Drury, raised the
School to 350, among whom were Lord Aberdeen, Viscount
Palmerstpn, and the late Sir Robert Peel

On the accession of Dr. Butler in 1805, the strong party
policy which had for years prevailed among those entitled to
nominate the Head Masters, led to another insurrection, in
which Lord Byron ^ took an active part. For the moment it

1660 and 1 771, five were Etonians, and Fellows of King's. Of the subse-
quent Masters, Dr. Drury and Dr. Longley were educated at Westminster,
Dr. G. Buller was educated at a private school. Dr. Wordsworth at
Winchester, Dr. Vaughan at Rugby, and the present Head Master, Dr.
H. M. Butler, at Harrow.
^ The three candidates for the vacant chair were Mark Drury, Butler,

and

3 lo 77ie Great Schools of En^arnL

was repressed, but it broke out again shortly afterwards with
heightened vehemence. During several days the very existence
of the School seemed to be in danger ; at length the military
were summoned, and the outbreak was effectually quelled, but
at the cost of many expulsions, much painful correspondence,
and, it is to be feared, a great deal of lasting animosity. A few
years later Dr. Butler and the School had to contend with
another difficulty. The little direct advantage derived by the
parishioners of Harrow from their Free School had for many
years been a source of jealousy and grievance, and in the year
1809, a portion of them formed a committee for the purpose of
correcting the abuses which they conceived to have crept into
the administration of the School. In pursuance of this object
they appealed to the Court of Chancery : — i. For the Removal
of such of the Governors of Harrow School as had not been
duly elected ; 2. For the better administration of the Revenues
of the Charity ; and 3. For an alteration in the then Con-
stitution of the School.

The appeal was heard before the Master of the Rolls, Sir
William Grant, who, after a luminous and analytical review of
the subject, pronounced a decree which, while it fully recog-
nised the birthright privileges of natives of Harrow and of
John Lyon's kindred, in effect determined that the then and
now existing system of admitting Scholars from all parts of
the kingdom, was in accordance with reason and sound sense,
and with the expressed wishes of the Founder.

and Evans. " On the first movement to which this contest gave rise in
the School, young Wildman was at the head of the party for Mark Drury,
whUe Byron at first held himself aloof from any. Anxious, however, to
have him as an ally, one of the Drury faction said to Wildman — ' Byron I
know will not join, because he doesn't choose to act second to any one, but,
by giving up the leadership to him, you may at once secure him. "' This
Wildman accordingly did, and Byron took the command of the party.

" The violence with which he opposed the elevation of Dr. Butler on
this occasion (chiefly from the warm affection which he had felt towards
the last Master) continued to embitter his relations with that gentleman
during the remainder of his stay at Harrow." — Moore's Life of Lord Byron^
vol. i. p. 87.

HarrimD. 311

This judgment^ has not been since appealed from, and
local and temporary causes of irritation having subsided, few
probably will now regret that the utility of the School has been
augmented to an extent which John Lyon never anticipated.
Under Dr. Butler's administration the number of Scholars at
one period rose to 295, but it sank to 115 before he resigned
his office. Under his successor, Dr. Longley, now Archbishop
of Canterbury, there were at first 275 boys in the School; but
when he was preferred to the Bishopric of Ripon, the number had
declined, however, to 165. Dr. Wordsworth's highest number
was 190^ his lowest 78, of whom 14 were Foundationers. Dr.
Yaughan, between 1845 ^^^ ^^S^y raised the list to 400^ and
during the remainder of his Mastership, as during that of the
present Head, Dr. H. M. Butler, the School average has been
about 450.

The Buildings, — The ancient School-house was a rude
red-brick edifice, very unsightly, and very inconvenient Until
1672, the Head Master resided in the upper rooms of this
house ; in that year he removed to a handsome and commo-
dious mansion, which was erected on the other side of the
way. The original structure was less than half the size of
the present one. In 1819 a new wing, corresponding with the
old clump, and containing the famous Speech-room, the
Cloisters, and the Library, was built at a cost of 10,000/. the
whole of which was subscribed by former Harrovians.

The most interesting portion of the Harrow buildings, whether
old or new, is the original School-room, which has existed as it
now stands from the time of the Founder. This room, now
occupied by the Lower Forms only, is not imposing in appear-
ance ; but, independent of its time-honoured associations, it
possesses a peculiar attraction, and one religiously preserved,
in the names of boys, afterwards distinguished in life, which
have been carved with their own hands upon the battered
panels.

Among them are "Parr,""W. Jones" (the celebrated Sir
William Jones), "R. B. S. 1765 " (Richard Brinsley Sheridan),
* Reported in Ve«cy*8 Chancery Cases, vol. xviL p. 49K.'

V

312 The Great Schools of England,

" H. Temple, 1800 " (Lord ^almerston), " R. Peel," " Spencer
Perceval, 1801," "Bjr^, 1805," "HaitingtoiP^uke of De-
vonshire), and a hostoTother signatures, familiar now as house-
hold words.

The Speech-room, which is furnished like a lecture theatre,
with seats for the accommodation of visitors who throng to
Harrow on " Speech Day," is used by the Head Master in
hearing the highest Form. It contains a large picture by Gavin
Hamilton, of Cicero declaiming against Catiline, which was pre-
sented to the School by Lord Northwick ; and some beautiful
stained glass windows, in which the arms of Queen Elizabeth,
Geoige III. and various magnates and benefactors to the
School are duly emblazoned.

Libraries^ Old and New. — The old library for the upper boys
is above the School-room, and contains a good assortment of
books. In this apartment there are also some interesting me-
mentos of old times, not the least so being a collection of
Harrow speech-bills, arranged and annotated by Dr. Butler.
Under the date 1800 we have the names of Mr. Temple (Lord
Palmerston), who recited ^^ The Bard'^ (Gray), and of Lord
Haddo (the late Earl of Aberdeen), who figured as ^^ Dido^
(Virgil). In another bill we see —

Lord Byron Latinus \

X •' Leekc Drances I Virgil.

' Peel Turaus )

From a note in Moore*s Life of Byron, it seems that the
poet would have spoken as Drances, but feared the taunt of
Tumus, ^^ pedibttsque Jugadbus w/w," would derive point from
his lameness. Appended to the speech-bill of 181 2, in which
Perceval is set down to speak " The Bard,'' is a note — " Not
spoken in consequence of the assassination of his father."
This room contains, too, portraits of Mr. Sayer, founder of
the scholarships which bear his name ; of Dr. Sumner, of
Lord Byron, of Dr. Parr, and, in miniature, of Dr. Thackeray ;
a staff covered with runic characters brought by Bruce the
traveller, a Harrow man, from Abyssinia ; an ^EsdiyluTwith

Harrow, 313

notes by Lord Byron when in the School ; and a splendid set
of engravings representing old Harrovians. In a carved oak
case there has been preserved a dress of green and white
satin, decorated with gold lace and embroidery, which- was
worn by a competitor for the Silver Arrow about a century
ago. The dress was presented by a descendant of the Rev.
J. Reade Munn.

The Vaughan Library ^ recently built by Harrovians in com-
memoration of the late distinguished Head Master, Dr. Vaughan,
stands on the crest of Harrow Hill, facing the School gates.
It is of red brick, with stone dressings to the windows and
buttresses, and though simple in outline, forms a handsome
ornament to the village.

The Chapd^ffzs first built in 1837-9 — Dr. Wordsworth, then

Head Master, being the chief contributor to the funds for its

erection. This edifice has been gradually removed, and its

place supplied by a larger and more elegant structure, of which

the chancel, built in 1855, was the gift of Dr. Vaughan. The

new south aisle was added as a memorial to the Harrovians

who fell at the siege of Sebastopol, and is called the '' Crimean

aisle." Beneath the richly-stained glass of the windows are the

names of the deceased. Before the erection of this beautiful

chapel the Harrow boys had no distinct place of worship, but

attended the old parish church, where the accommodation

was very insufficient In the new chapel there is ample room

for about 550 sitters.

, Harrow Church. — As the last resting-place of John Lyon,

I and of the most eminent of the Head Masters : above all, as

' the spot where for more than 250 years the Scholars of Harrow

' School have assembled for divine worship, the ancient village

church must always be an object of interest to Harrovians. It

consists of a nave, chancel, two aisles and transepts, and is

j supposed to have been built about the time of Edward III.

I The original structure, however, of which a few remains still

I exist, was erected, according to Eadmor, in the reign of William

the Conqueror. This fine old church has lately been restored

from designs by Mr. G. C. Scott.

314 ^^ Great Schools of England.

In the churchyard, on the western side, is an old tomb,
familiarly known to Harrovians as "Byron's Tomb," which,
from its association with the author of Childe Harold^ every
one who goes to Harrow makes a point of visiting. In a letter
to Mr. Murray from Leghorn, in 1823, he expresses a wish that
his daughter *'^//<!grtf," then recently dead, should be buried
in Harrow Church, and remarks : — " There is a spot in the
churchj'^jn/, near the footpath, on the brow of the hill looking
towards Windsor, and a tomb under a laige tree (bearing the
name of Peachie or Peachey), where I used to sit for hours and
hours when a boy. This was my favourite spot."

Harrow. 315

CHAPTER II.

STATISTICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS.

I. Foundation and Endowment of the School — The Chartef
granted to John Lyon in the fourteenth year of Queen Elizabeth
for the Foundation of his School, after reciting " That John
Lyon had purposed in his mind a Grammar School, with one
Schoolmaster and one Usher, within the village of Harrow, to
found and for ever to establish for the perpetual education,
teaching, and instruction of children and youth of the said
parish, and two Scholars within the University of Cambridge,
and two Scholars within the University of Oxford," &c. ordains
that for ever thereafter there should be one Grammar School
in the village of Harrow-on-the-Hill, for the bringing up and
teaching and instruction of children and youth in Grammar
for all times thereafter, &c. and constitutes the six Trustees
appointed by the Founder, a body corporate themselves and
their successors, by election among themselves, for ever, as
Keepers and Governors of the School.

The property of the Founder consisted of several small
estates at Harrow and at Preston and Alperton — both hamlets
of that parish — at Bamet, at Maiden in Bedfordshire, and Pad-
dington and Kilbum in the parish of Marylebone. These
lands he conveyed to the Governors by separate conveyances ;
directing the whole profits of the lands at Kilbum to be
bestowed towards the repairing the road from Edgeware to
London, and the whole profits of the lands at Paddington, to
be applied for amending the highway from London to Harrow.
The profits of his other estates were dedicated to the School

3 1 6 77te Great Schools of England,

fzxiA to the maintenance of two Scholars at Oxford, and two at
I Cambridge. The rental of the lands devoted by Lyon to the
purposes of the School, appear to have been about two-thirds
of the value of his estates — the other third being apportioned
to the repair of the roads. These proportions are now reversed.
The entire income of the School Charity Trust Estate is about
Tjioo/. and that of the road estates is about 3,500/. a year.^

In conformity with several Acts of Parliament passed within
the last century, the proceeds of the road estates are paid over
by the Governors to the Commissioners of the Metropolis
Turnpike Roads, north of the Thames. The Governors con-
sider, however, that such an application of two-thirds of the
whole property is not in accordance with the spirit and inten-
tion of the original endowment, which contemplated, primarily
the advancement of the School, with the other objects of charity
for the benefit of Harrow, and treated the repairs of the roads
as a subsidiary object. They contend that the deeds of con-
veyance give them a discretionary power and control over the
application of all the rents ; and further, that the trustees of
the Harrow Road obtained the Act in 1804, which deprived
the Governors of their controlling authority over the Kilbum
and Paddington trust, by omitting to recite the words which
conferred the discretionary powers in question. On the other
hand, it is argued that, although the manner in which the rents
were to be applied to their several purposes was left to the dis-
cretion of the Governors, they do not appear to have been
invested with any power to vary the purposes themselves, or to
apply to one of them money which the Founder had appro-
priated to the other.

However this may be, it is certain that John Lyon could
never have intended that the persons chiefly benefited by his
pious purpose and generous provision should be the rate-
payers of a particular Metropolitan District. It is much to
\ be wished that some enlightened friend of education in one
^ of the Houses of Parliament would direct attention to this
monstrous abuse of the Harrow charity. The remedy rests

1 Report, page 208.

Harrow. 317

with the Legislature, and where the abuse is so flagrant Par-
liament could scarcely refuse its effectual aid.

IL Governing Body, — The " Keepers or Governors," six ii
number, have the sole management of the property and expen
ditur^ of the Foundation. They have the appointment of the
Head Master, and the Second Master or Usher, and can remove
either of them for misconduct or incapacity. They are em-
powered also to admit boys on the Foundation, with the
consent of the Head Master ; to elect to John Lyon's Scholar-
ships at the two Universities, and to determine all doubts and
controversies relating to the School. It has been their prac-
tice, however, to leave the administration of the School entirely
in the hands of the Head Master.

The Governors of Harrow have no privileges beyond the
election or admission of the Free Scholars on the Foundation
of the School, and no emoluments beyond the stipends pre-
scribed by the statutes of 13J. 4//. annually for " their pains."
They are directed by the Founder's Statutes to meet once a
year, and they are empowered to fill up vacancies in their own
body by the election of '' honest and substantial inhabitants"
within the parish of Harrow.^

It has been remarked that, by an article of " the Rules
for the Ordering of the School'' at the end of the Statutes,
a general power to alter these rules is conferred on the
Governors. Under this authority the enactment requiring
the Head Master to be always unmarried has long since been
rescinded.

II L Head Master and Assistant Masters, — The Head Master
is responsible for the discipline and teaching of all the boys,
for the conduct of the chapel services, for the appointment
of all the Assistant Masters (except the Lower Master), for
licensing the several boarding-houses, and for their limitation
in size and number. He is also responsible for the financial
arrangements of the School, and is himself the Master of a large
boarding-house. He takes the teaching of the highest Form
and occasionally examines the other Forms, and he preaches

* /Report, p. 209.

3x8 ' The Great Schools of England,

in the Chapel every Sunday evening. The emoluments of the
Head Master are derived as follow : —

a. From the Governors of the School } ^^^J^' ^1 \ 50/.

( coals, 20/. )

b. Annual fee of 12/., being fonr-fiflhs of the fee of 15/. for "public

taition," paid by every boy not on the Foundation of John Lyon,
r. Annual fee of 5/. for " School charges " paid in the same manner.
d. Entrance fee of 5/. paid in the same manner.

e. Profit on the sum of 68/., being for board and washing, 60/., for grocery,

carpet, repairs, &c. 8/. ; paid annually for every boy in the Head
Master's house.

f. Entrance fee of 6/. paid for every boy in the house.

g. Annual fee of 2/. lOr. for " School charges" paid by every boy on the

Foundation of John Lyon.
h. Annual fee of 5/. paid by each member of the " English Form.'

»f

Putting these items together, it appears that when the School
is full, and when his boarding-house is also full, the income of
the Head Master amounts to 10,000/. per annum : —

£

1. From the Governors 50

2. Public tuition and School charges, 17 X 450 Tt^SO

3. Entrance fee 5/. X 140 700

4. Estimated profit on each boy in the house, 20/. X 63 . . 1,260

5. Entrance fee to boarding-house, 6/. X 25 150

6. School charges paid by, say, 32 Foundationers .... 80

7. Fee of 5/. from, say 20 boys in the English Form .... 100

Total ;fio,ooo

The gross receipts, however, far exceed the net income,
which by various chaiges and deductions is diminished to
6,288/., and even this is said to be more than he can practically
reckon on. There is no building fund at Harrow ; the revenues
of the Foundation have been shown to be very limited, and it
has been customary for the Head Master to subscribe largely
to those new buildings and improvements which the growth of
the establishment demands, while the cost of supporting them
falls on him alone.^

The Second, or Lower Master, the " Usher," as he is styled

^ Report^ page 209.

Harrow, 319

in the Statutes, is appointed by the Governors, but his specific
duties and powers do not appear to differ materially from those
of the Assistant Masters. He is generally the senior from
among the Assistant Masters, and must not be under the
academical degree of R A. In theory he has the chaige of the
Lower School — that is, of the Fourth and third Forms— but
practically he does not exercise any peculiar control His
annual stipend originally was 10/. ; he sow receives from the
Foundation yearly 49/. Zs, \d. But his chief emoluments arise
from his boarding-house and a capitation fee of 3/. paid to him
by every boy not on the Foundation, out of which, however,
he pays 300/. per annum to an Assistant Master, who takes a
division of the Fourth Form.

The number of Classical Assistant Masters, exclusive of the
Lower Master, is fourteen. They are, in almost all cases, gra-
duates of some College at Oxford or Cambridge. Their income
consist of a salary of 150/. a year paid to each of them by the
Head Master, of the payment, 15/., which they receive as tutors
from each private pupil, and the profits of their boarding-houses.
One Assistant, who has a small number of pupils, receives 210/.
annually from the Head Master, and another, who has none,
receives 300/.

There are also four Mathematical Masters and two Assistant
Masters in Modem Languages. The position and powers of
the former, in and out of School, are the same as those of the
Classical Masters. Their emoluments are derived from the
payments made by the boys, not on the Foundation, on account
of Mathematics, which are 4/. a year and \L entrance, from
private tuition, and from their boarding-houses, the privilege of
keeping which they share equally with the Classical Assistant
Masters.

The Modem Language Masters have salaries of 200/. and
100/. a year respectively; they divide the fees paid for modem
languages by all the boys of the School ; they take private
pupils, and derive the ordinary profits from their boarding-
houses.

IV. Foundation Boys. — The primary object of John Lyon in

/
/

320 The Great Schools of England,

the foundation and endowment of his School was the free educa-
tion of the sons of the poor inhabitants of Harrow. His Statutes,
however, direct the admission of a meet and competent nimiber
of " foreigners " — ^boys not belonging to the parish — who were
to pay for the instruction they received, and thus augment the
emoluments of the Head Master. There has obviously been
a great departiu'e from the original design of the Founder, but
this is justifiable if his benevolent intentions have not been
disregarded.

There is no longer any gratuitous education at Harrow
School. A Foundation boy is exempted from the yearly pay-
ment of 15/. for public tuition, 4/. for Mathematics, and 2/. 55.
for French and Grammar. But for private tuition and various
other items he pays about 17 guineas /^r annum. He has
really then, only the privilege of receiving his education at a
cheaper rate.

The present Foundationers, too, are not the children of the
farmers and tradesmen of Harrow — the real inhabitants of
the parish — but of persons in a higher walk of life, who go
to reside at Harrow for the purpose of obtaining a superior
education for their sons at a small expense.^

Besides the Foundationers, who all live with their friends, there
are in round numbers about twenty other "home-boarders,"
consisting of boys who do not claim to be on the Foundation,
but who have a legal right to be so. These are children in
the same rank as the Foundationers.

In order to meet the objections as to the altered character
of the School, and to prevent the purpose of the Founder
from being defeated, Dr. Vaughan, a late Head Master, some
years since established a day-school for the children of the
humbler parishioners, which still exists. In this School, called
the " English Form," for the small payment of 5/. from each
boy, the pupils receive a good commercial education, including
French. They are instructed by a teacher, or teachers,
appointed by the Head Master, and undergo periodical ex-
aminations by the Masters of Harrow School. For the most

1 Report, page 3 11.

Harrow, 321

part the boys in the " English Form " are the sons of trades-
men in the village and its neighbourhood, and they have no
communication either in School or Chapel, or in the playing-
ground, with the boys composing the great School

V. — The School — System of Admission — Course of Siud^-^
Arrangement of the School — The disproportion between the
number of Foundationers and " foreigners " is nearly as great
at Harrow as at Eton. In December, 1864, the total number
of Scholars was 510, vof whom ^32 were Foundationers,^ and
10 others home T)oaraers. The fluctuation in the number of
boys at this School is remarkable. In 1842 it was 114; in
1844 it had fallen to 79. In the three following years it rose
to 314, and afterwards steadily increased, till in 1861 it was
492.

No boy is admitted at Harrow after he has completed his
fifteenth year, except under circumstances which the Head
Master may deem of peculiar urgency. The majority of those
who enter have reached fourteen, hardly any are under twelve
years of age.

The entrance-examination, conducted by the Head Master
and some of the Assistants, is in Greek and Latin, and in
Latin composition, prose and verse. At one time. Mathematics
formed a part of this examination ; but it does so no longer.

The Course of Study comprises Classics, Arithmetic and
Mathematics, French, and Crerman. Natural Science is not
taught, but there is every quarter a voluntary examination,
open to the whole School, in some one branch.

The School is arranged for Classical instruction as follows :—

Sixth Form I Monitors and Upper Divbion.
( Lower Division.

! First Division.
Second Division.
Third Division.
Fourth Division*
Remove.

! First Division.
Second Division.
Third Division.
Fourth Division.

322 TAe Great SchooU of En^and,

! First Divisioa.
Second Division.
Third Division.
Third Form.

There are thus fourteen ascending Divisions, including the
Remove, which is not subdivided, and counting the Third
Form and the third Foiuth, which are heard together, as one.
The maximum number of boys in a Division is 35.^

The highest Division is taught by the Head Master, each of
^the others by an Assistant Master.

Mathematics were first made a compulsory study at Harrow
1/ I in 1837. Every boy now learns Mathematics during the whole
of his stay at School.

The Mathematical divisions of the School are thus
arranged : —

1. The Monitors and two Sixth Forms of sixty boys are
divided into six divisions of about ten boys each.

2. Four Fifth Forms of about 144 are separated into eight
divisions in like manner.

3. The Remove and First Shell of 72 into four divisions.

4. Each of the Forms below the First Shell is separated into
two divisions of about eighteen boys each.

Every boy above the Fourth Form has three hours a week
with the Mathematical School ; and every boy in the Fourth
has two hours there. Preparation usually occupies them from
two to three hours a week more. In the examination the
highest number of marks that a boy may gain for Mathematics
is one fourth of the highest number he can gain for Classics.

In addition to the compulsory work, any boy may receive
private instruction if his parents desire it ; but he is not
allowed to do with his private tutors, work that he has to show
up in School.

Modem Languages, — Since 1851 the study of Modem Lan-

/ guages has been made compulsory at Harrow. Below the

Fifth Form, every boy learns French. In the Fifth Form, if

the boys are able with ease to read and translate a French

^ Report^ page 2X2.

'I

Harrow^ 323

Classic at sight, they are allowed to begin the study of
German, unless their parents desire that they should proceed
with French. The time devoted to Modem Languages in every
Form but the lowest is two lesson-hours a week ; in the lowest
one hour and a half, and an hour's preparation is deemed indis-
pensable for each lesson-hour. In classifying the boys for
modem languages the same plan is adopted as in arranging
them for Mathematics. There are twenty-one French and five
German divisions, the maximum number in a division being
twenty-four. A small number of the students have private
tuition in Modem Languages, which gives them two additional
hours a week. As with Mathematics, the study of Modem
Languages is said to occupy a much higher place in the
estimation of Harrovians than it did a quarter of a century
ago, but the average amount of attainment at present hardly
goes beyond a knowledge of the French or German grammar.

History and Geography. — In the Upper Sixth Form, one
hour a week is given to some portion of Ancient or Modem
History. In the other Forms there are separate lessons in
Ancient History, and up to the Upper Fifth, for two or three
hours a week in Geographyi^For the holiday tasks, English
History is divided into three periods, and the cycle is so
divided that it can be completed in three years.^'^On the
retum of the boys from the holidays, an examination is con-
ducted on paper, each Master examining the boys of his own
Form. " Copies," or prize-books of small value, paid for by
the parents of the receivers, are given to the most successful.
Those who signally fail are refused an " Exeat^^ a short
holiday firom Friday or Saturday till Monday, which each boy
is allowed to have once in the quarter, if the Masters approve,
and if the boys have friends or relations to whom they can go.^

Upon the whole, History at Harrow appears to be studied /
mechanically rather than fmitfully and suggestively, so as to
interest the imagination. In various ways History has under- '
gone great changes, and the chief Public Schools should
benefit by what is good in the revolution.

* Report, page 217.
Y 2

V

324 Tk^ Great Schools of England.

Natural Science. — The study of Natural Science is not yet
compulsory at Harrow. There are, however, it has been seen,
three voluntary examinations in this branch of knowledge in
the course of the year. To the boys who come first and second
in the aggregate of these examinations, prizes of books, valued
at five guineas and three guineas respectively, are given by
the Head Master. The subjects of examination have been
Geology, Botany, Chemistry, and Electricity, but the number
of boys presenting themselves to be examined has never been
very considerable.

Music and Draiving. — ^These accomplishments do not belong
to the regular course ; but they are taught as extras, and out of
School hours, by regular teachers. In i860 the number of
boys learning Music at Harrow was only eighteen ; the number
learning Drawing between sixty and seventy.

Private Tuition. — ^At Harrow, as at Eton, every boy has a
tutor. As at Eton, also, private tuition is of almost more
importance than School work. The tutor assists the pupil in
preparing his lessons, in correcting his compositions, and in
private reading. To the last of these, two hours a week are
allotted in the Sixth Form, and one hour in the Fifth and in
the Shell In the Fourth Form there is no private reading.
The private reading is not so much valued for the position
and palpable results which it elicits, as for the suggestions and
guidance of which it is the medium ; and it is thus of immense
benefit to the more ambitious and industrious boys. Except
in the Upper Form, all the compositions are corrected before
being shown to the Form Master. Moreover, in the Shell and
the Fourth Form, the composition is written in the Pupil-
room, and in the presence of the tutor, who if help be needed,
gives help. In the Remove and in the lowest Division of the
Fifth Form, the boys begin the composition in the Pupil-room
and finish it afterwards by themselves. The evidence given
on this subject before the Commissioners by Mr. Harris, an
eminent tutor at Harrow, has been thought sufficiently im-
portant to be quoted by them in their Report When asked
by Lord Devon, one of the Commissioners, what " doing com-

Harrow, 325

positions with the tutor," meant, he replied : — " It means doing
in his presence. A limited time is given for doing these verses.
Two hours are allotted as the time during which the exercise
should be done. When the boys first come in, on being called
over, they are told what the exercise is, and paper is given to
them, and they set to work by themselves. Four exercises are
set ; one for the Fourth, Fifth, and Remove, one for the Third
and Fourth Shells, and one for the Fourth Form. I always
begin with the easiest of the exercises, and do it myself on
paper. As I do it, I see where the difficulties are, and I call
up first one boy, and then another, of that form in his place,
to ask him a question. I should question one boy, then another,
as to the way in which he would get over the difficulties, and
his answer, of course, is aloud. I correct him if he is wrong,
and, if I find he has no chance of finding it out, then I assist
him, and in assisting him I assist the whole Form. Having
done that one exercise, I go on to the second in the same
way, doing it myself on paper. The three exercises requiring
to be so treated, take perhaps three-quarters of an hour \ all
that the boys have done is shown up at the end of two hours,
and I fix another time for them to finish the remainder and to
have them looked over. The exercises shown up at the end
of the two hours are never altered by the boys ; their correc-
tions are all on another paper. I always show up to the
Master in School the original draft of the boys' exercises as
shown to me, with simply my marks upon it, and with no
corrections. I also show up to him a fair copy, which is
written out by the boy after being corrected by himself and
revised by me."

The lessons which the boys are to conslrue in School they
prepare in Pupil-room, each tutor being allowed to determine
the kind and amount of assistance which he shall aflford.

Although in theory the same, or not very dissimilar, in prac-
tice the Harrow and Eton systems of private work materially
differ. At Eton, only the first two divisions are exempt from
construing in Pupil-room ; at Harrow, the first six divisions —
the whole of the Sixth and Fifth Forms — ^are exempt .

326 The Great Schools of England,

The present Head Master of Harrow, Mr. Butler, is favour-
able to this practice of assisting boys in the preparation of their
lessons, although he admits that there is in it a temptation to
anticipate difficulties and to give greater and earlier assistance
than is wholesome to the boy; and a danger lest the boy
should idle away part of the hour of preparation in reliance
that at the end he will get just enough assistance from his
tutor to enable him to tide over the difficulty.

School-work, — ^The School year consists of thirty-eight weeks*
The time spent daily in School, which begins at 7.30 in the
morning, is about four hours and a half on a whole school-day,
and about two hours on a half-holiday. Including the time
devoted to preparation, about six hours are given altogether to
work on a whole school-day.

Promotion^ Scholarships^ Prizes^ &»c, — The system of pro-
motion is as follows : — Each division is considered to have a
maximum number. When at the beginning of a School quarter
it is found that the numbers in any division have fallen below
the maximum, the vacancies are filled by boys from the division
below. Two-thirds of those so promoted are chosen by merit,
the remaining third of the vacancies is reserved for boys who
may have been in the division below for three school quarters.
The number of the latter is usually very small, so that practically,
except in the lowest two divisions, nearly all the promotions
are given by merit To ascertain the deserts of the scholars,
marks are given throughout the quarter after each lesson,
whether in Classics, Mathematics, or Modem languages.
These marks are added together at the end of the quarter,
when there is an examination for each division. The sum of
the marks of the quarter and the marks gained in the examina-
tion, determines the new position of each boy in his division,
and the order in which he is promoted to the division above.
Except in the Sixth Form, where the marks of the quarter
count as something more than one paper in the examination,
the marks of the quarter and the marks of the examination
have an equal influence in determining each bo/s final
position.

Harrow. 327

In the Harrow system of promotion, the relative weight
assigned to Classics over Mathematics is in the proportion of
four to one ; and to Classics over Modem Languages in the
proportion of nine to one.

Two printed lists of the whole School are published every
quarter. One of these shows the places of the boys in their
several Forms ; the other shows how they have succeeded in
the quarterly examination. This scheme of promotion is
thought to stimulate emulation and encourage industry, while it
does not condemn dunces to sterile drudgery, or idlers to irre-
claimable indolence.

The rewards at Harrow are inferior in value if not in number
to those offered by some other of our chief Schools. A part
of the income of the Foundation was by the Founder's direc->
tions to be employed in creating two Scholarships at Oxford
and two at Cambridge. These directions have not been strictly
complied with. Two ^^John Lyaris^ Scholarships are now
generally given in each year, of 30/. each, tenable for four years
at any College at either University. A preference was to be
given to the Founder's " poor kinsfolk,'' and to the poor boys
of the parish, but it does not appear that either of these pre-
ferences has ever been claimed. Of the other Scholarships,
one of the chief is the Isabella Gregorys Scholarship, which is
worth 100/. a year, is tenable at either University, and becomes
vacant every fourth year. These Scholarships are bestowed
not for excellence in any particular direction, but are given to
the boys who succeed best at the ordinary terminal examina-
tions. There are also two Scholarships founded by Mr. Sayer,
of fifty guineas a year for four years, to Caius College, Cam-
bridge ; two by Mr. Neeld of 30/. a year for three years to any
College at Oxford, and one Scholarship by Earl Spencer of 30/.
a year for three years, to either University.

Among the lesser prizes, in the shape of medals and books
for special achievements, are five prizes contended for at the
-voluntary examinations, for knowledge of the Bible); a prize
for superior acquaintance with some particular branch of
English Literature, open to all boys below the Fifth Form ;

sJ

328 77ie Great Schools of England.

Sir Robert Peel's prize for a Latin oration or essay ; the Isa-
bella Gregory prize for Latin prose translation ; Mr. Neeld's
prize for Mathematics, and Mr. Botfield's for Modem Lan-
guages.

The competition for the annual prizes is said to excite great
interest throughout the School, but an increase of valuable
Scholarships at Harrow is much to be desired.

Moral Training and Discipline — Monitorial System, — ^At
Harrow, as at Eton, the tutor is not merely a boy*s intellectual
instructor, but his moral Mentor also, and this guardianship
seems faithfully and zealously fulfilled.

Monthly reports are forwarded regularly to the parents of
every boy in the School. They are drawn up in a tabulated
form, so as to record the impression conveyed of the boy's
conduct during the past month in Form work — ^Classical,
Mathematical, and in Modern Languages — in his house, and
in his tutor's pupil-room. The details of this periodical report
are collected, signed, and forwarded, with his own comments,
by the tutor. If the boy does not board in the house of his
tutor, the report is signed by both the tutor and the house-
master.

The monitorial system holds supreme sway at Harrow.
" Every member of the Sixth Form," says the present Head
Master, ''is invested with a certain degree of responsibility,
more particularly, though the distinction is not definitely
marked, the members of the Upper Sixth Form, who are heard
in School by the Head Master, and come into close relation
to him.

'' If any well-known rule of the School were violated in the
presence of a Sixth Form boy, still more if he were himself
personally concerned in the violation, he would be held, both
by the Masters and. by the School, to be culpable in a much
higher degree than if he had been, say, in the Upper Fifth
Form.

'' It is, however, to the monitors^ that is, the first fifteen boys
of the School, that authority, and consequent responsibility,
are most formally assigned. Their authority extends over the

■vplippi^i^p

Harrow, 329

whole School, though they are not permitted to inflict personal
chastisement in support of it on boys above the second division
of the Fifth Form. No one below the monitors may inflict
personal chastisement for any cause whatever, except the head
boy of a large house, who is invested with monitorial authority
over the members of that house. Without attempting to define
accurately the duties of a monitor, I may say that he would be
bound to keep reasonable order among the boys of his house,
especially during the evening ; to assist the Master who calls
the ^ bill * in School in maintaining quiet ; to investigate and
to punish any iserious moral oflence, as bull3dng, drinking, gross
language or acts, &c. ; or any violation of a well-known school
rule, as smoking, being in a public-house^ throwing stones in
the street, &c.

"If a very gross offence were discovered by a monitor,
especially if committed by a boy high in the School, it would
be his duty to report it to the Head Master. Practically, how-
ever, an instance of an offence being thus reported scarcely
ever occurs, and I should earnestly discourage its becoming
otherwise than most exceptional. It is far better for the School
that the monitors should themselves deal with offences which
they discover. A punishment inflicted by them, as the recog-
nised representatives of the School, is in the great majority of
cases of incomparably more value than a punishment inflicted
by any Master. So strongly am I convinced of this, that if a
monitor came to report a case to me I should request him, in
the first instance, to state the facts without giving names, and
should then offer him my advice as to whether it were better
that he or I should deal with the offence.

" If, again, an offence was brought to my notice of which, in
my judgment, any particular monitor ought to have taken cog-
nizance, I should, after myself dealing with it, point out to him
privately the opportunity he had neglected."

This evidence is interesting and valuable, but the reasoning
to many will appear more specious than convincing. Whether,
as carrying out the idea of a natural hierarchy, which should
never be lost sight of in human affairs, the Monitorial system

V

/

330 The Great Schools of England^

be justifiable, is a point for mature discussion. But it Is
difficult to believe Uiat a punishment inflicted by a Monitor
can have the same moral weight as a punishment inflicted by
the Head Master. In the former case, there must always be
the suspicion of caprice, of passion, or of partiality.

If a colonel punishes a soldier, the latter bows to the
colonel's authority and experience; but if a raw subaltern
punishes him, the soldier is filled with anger and resentment.
The position of the Head Master and of a Monitor, in refer-
ence to a delinquent in the School, is exactly parallel. In any
case, it would be well that a Monitor should only be allowed
to inflict the mildest forms of punishment.

The Monitors at Harrow are empowered to punish by
impositions, by extra fagging ; by reprimand, by caning, and»
in extreme cases of misconduct, by a "public whopping"—
that is, a caning of the offender by the head boy before the
whole School.

Any boy threatened with a punishment which he deems
unjust, may appeal to the body of Monitors, or to the Head
Master, and the appeal suspends the punishment ; but if the
Master thinks the Monitor right, the appellant must either
submit or leave the School.

The Monitors are not necessarily the most gifted and
brilliant boys of the School They are those who have risen
by seniority, by steady working, by meritorious behaviour, and
who are by this respectable mediocrity supposed to represent
the average worth of the School both morally and intellectually.
The head boy of the School is the head of the Monitors, and
he is responsible for the working of the system.

All the Monitors are, by virtue of their office, members of
the Debating Society, and of the " Philathletic Club.'' By virtue
of his office, also, the head boy is captain-commandant of the
rifle corps ; he has the chief management of the compulsory
games at foot-ball, and all money spent on sports passes
through his hands.

Fagging. — The Fagging at Harrow has no peculiar features*
There, as elsewhere, it is pictured by its supporters as an

Harrow, 331

interesting and indispensable institution, and there, as else-
where, the fags are represented as liking their monotonous
slavery.

" All the boys in two divisions of the Sixth Form, that is,
the first sixty boys in the School, have the privilege of
fagging.

"All boys below the Fifth Form, excepting the three or
four composing the Third Form, are liable to be fagged ;
though any boy who may have been a fag for three years
becomes, ipsofctcto, exempted. Besides being liable to be sent
on messages by any member of the Sixth Form, the younger
boys act as breakfast and tea fags (in the house), as cricket
fags, and as racquet fags.

" The breakfast and tea fags bring up the breakfast and tea
things for the Sixth Form boy to whom they are appointed {/
fags, and take them away again ; the washing, &c. being done
by servants. In some of the houses the whole of the above
duty is done by the servants.

" Every evening of the summer quarter a certain number of
the boys in regular rotation are sent down to stop and run
after the balls used by the Sixth Form, while practising cricket
This practising lasts from about 6.30 or 6.45 to 8, or 8.15.

" In the same way, when a Sixth Form boy plays racquets,
two fags are generally appointed to run after balls.

" At football there is no regular fagging ; but this game, which
takes place on three afternoons of the week, lasting for about
an hour and a half at a time, during the greater part of two
School quarters, is compulsory on all the School below the
upper Fifth Form, except on boys who have been three
years at the School.

" Boys who bring a medical certificate that football would
be injurious to their health are exempted from attendance.
Each of the Monitors also has the right to exempt four boys
on each football day, if he go down to the game on that day
himself, and the head of the School can exempt as many as he
thinks fit" 1

^ Evidence^ voL ii. p. 281.

/

33 a ^Ae Great Schools oj Er^nd,

Punishment. — The most common punishments at Harrow
appear to be the writing out Latin lines, varying from 50 to
500; or learning lines by heart; or "extra School," which
consists in sending a boy into a School-room on the afternoon
of a half-holiday, to sit there and write out grammar for an
hour and a half in the presence of a Master. For the Sixth
Form there is no flogging ; in the Fifth it is very rare ; but
in the other Forms it is administered not unfrequently.

Sports and Pastimes. — For these there is ample provision.
They consist chiefly of cricket (for which Harrow has long
been distinguished), racquets, for which a new court has
recently been built, football, jumping, and occasionally swim-
ming. The old game of "hare and hounds" has been dis-
continued in consequence of difliculties raised by the farmers.
What is more to be regretted is the abolition of the once
favourite recreation of archery, which, besides being a graceful
and invigorating exercise, is expressly directed by the Founder,
one of whose preliminary requisitions compels parents entering
their children at Harrow School to " allow them at all times
bow-shafts^ how-strings^ and a bracer.*^

"The Butts," at Harrow, of an antiquity possibly much
earlier than the foundation of the School, were situated on
the left entrance to the village from the London Road. They
were backed by a lofty and picturesque knoll, crowned with
majestic trees, and on the slope of this eminence were rows
of seats cut in the green sward, gradually descending in rude
imitation of a Roman theatre. About 1810, the " Butts" were
levelled, the aged elms cut down, and the green sward ploughed
over, l^i Troja fuit^ jam segetes I

When the bow had long ceased to be a weapon of defence,
its use revived as an amusement, and the Harrow Shooting
Matches can be traced back to about the beginning of the
eighteenth century. These contests took place in public
annually —at first on the ist of August, and in later years on
the first Thursday in July. Originally six, but subsequently
twelve, boys contended for a silver arrow. These competitors
were all habited in fancy dresses, usually of silk or satin.

Harrow. 333

spangled ; the colours white and green, or white and red, with
sashes and caps of silk to match. He who shot within the
three circles of the target was saluted with a flourish of French
horns, and he who first sent twelve arrows nearest the central
mark was proclaimed victor, and carried home the silver arrow
amid the acclamations of the School. Some of the old scores
are still preserved. To that of 1760 an anecdote is attached.
One of the competitors of that year was a boy named
" Merry /' another was named, or nick-named, " Love." The
latter discharged his shaft almost in the centre of the buH's-eye,
and then shouted out, " Omnia vincit amor T' Merry followed,
and sending his arrow clean into the very middle of the mark,
rejoinded, ^^ Nos nan cedamus amort/" A ball given by the
winner in the School-room, and to which the neighbouring
families were invited, usually wound up the entertainments.

The custom was continued down to 177 1. In the next
year it ceased, and has never been revived. Not long since,
Mr. Charles Allix presented to the School the arrow which his
father won at Harrow in 1766. It is of solid silver, about two
feet long, and bears the following inscription : — " Prcetium
VictoruR^ a Carola Wager Allix^ potitum. Tertia Mensis Julii

Debating Society. — In several of the houses at Harrow the
boys have small debating societies, established by themselves,
which meet once in every week of the School term. There is also
a general Debating Society held in the Monitors' Library, the
meetings taking place once a week during two-thirds of tlie
School year. The subjects discussed are usually political,
and sometimes the tutors take part in the debates.

Holidays, — There are three vacations, lasting respectively at
Easter three weeks, at Midsummer six weeks, at Christmas
five weeks.

There are half-holidays on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and
Saturda3rs. For the Sixth and Fifi:h Forms, there is no work
in School or (necessarily) with a tutor, after nine o'clock on
Tuesday morning.

Sometimes, at intervals generally of between two and three

334 ^^ Great Schools of En^and,

weeks, a Thursday or a Saturday, is converted into a whole
holiday in honour of some special event, as, for example, a
Harrow man having been appointed to some high post in the
Church or State, or a boy, lately of Harrow School, having
won some eminent distinction at the University.

Religious Observances, — During the quarter, the boys read
through a certain portion of the Bible, according to a fixed
rotation, and they are examined orally on the subject in
School on Sunday, and when the classes meet on Monday
morning.

There are three services every Sunday in the School Chapel—
an early morning service, a forenoon service, and an afternoon
service. The first is the Communion Service ; at the second,
one of the clerical Assistant Masters preaches ; at the third, a
sermon is almost invariably delivered by the Head Master. A
choir of fifteen boys meets twice a week to practise mtl^c, and
they perform the musical part of the service on Sunday, and
chant the psalms in the afternoon of that day.

Dr. Vaughan has recently published several volumes of the
sermons preached by him to the School. They have attracted
almost as much attention as those delivered to the boys at
Rugby by Dr. Arnold.

Boarding-houses, — There are two classes of boarding-houses
at Harrow — the large and the small. Of the former, the Head
Master's holds sixty-three, and the others about thirty-six or
thirty-seven boys each ; the small houses contain only six or
seven boys each. There are six large houses, besides the
Head Master's, and ten small. Another house, which belongs
to neither class, holds sixteen boys.

The cost of residence in a small boarding-house is higher
than in a large one, in order to insure a profit to the keeper.
In return for this, the boarder is supposed to have some
compensating, if not commensurate, advantages. There is
more direct supervision, more of paternal care, more of what
may be termed the family atmosphere. Moreover, a delicate
or sensitive boy escapes the rough play, and the severer,
sterner discipline of the large boarding-houses. In the Harrow

HarrauK 335

boarding-houses the rooms are not as at Eton, single-bedded,
but commonly contain from two to five boys. Some of
the senior scholars, however, occupy single rooms. There
is no sanatorium at Harrow, but every boarding-house has
sick-rooms distinct from the rooms in ordinary use. This
absence of a sanatorium has been much deplored, all the
more, that the general sanatory regulations of the School are
not quite so perfect as they might be. The management
of the boarding-houses is not by any settled rules. The dis-
cretion of each House-master, guided by recognised tra-
ditions and customs, decides what is necessary to preserve
the health, comfort, and good order of the boys entrusted to
his charge.
r The regular meals are breakfast at 9 A.M., dinner at i, tea ^ i
varying from 5.30 to 6.30, supper about 8.30 or 9 p.m. /

The breakfast consists of bread and butter, with coffee and
tea ; and, at some of the small houses, hot meat

At dinner there are always meat and pudding, or fish and
meat, or soup and meat Beer is also provided.

Tea is like breakfast, omitting the coffee.

At supper there are cold meat, cheese, and beer,

ANNUAL SCHOOL CHARGES AND EXPENSES OF A BOY

AT HARROW SCHOOL.

I. Expenses of a Foundationer or other Home-Boarder,

£ s. d.

Private tuition 15 o o

School charges 4 10 o

Fee for bathing-place 070

Total £l^ 17 o

33^

TA^ Great Schools of England,

II. Expenses of a Resident N<m Foundationer.

41 5 o

InstnictioQ and School Charges: J^ t. d.

Public tuition ..... 15 o o

Private tuition 15 o o

School charges 500

Mathematics 400

Fjrench and Gennan ... a 5 o

Board, &c.

Total charges for board and ")
education without extras . )

Average annual expenses, in-
cluding tradesmen's bills,
allowances, and extim Mas-
ters

Entrance Fbks.

Head Master S

Mathematics t

House . • . . . 6

Outfit 4

£16

Head
Master's

House.

4 *. ^.

41 5 o
68 o o

109 5 o

X44 o o

Other
House.

£ '. '.

41 5 o
85 o o

ta6 5 o

166 o o

SmaU
House.

£ *• d.

4X 5 o
135 o o

176 5 o

ao5 o o

Extras.

£ *. d.
Drawing 990

Music It o o

Extra mathematics .900

Extra modem languages 900

-♦

//

--/

i".

^

' -'/•

0

L-'

/

/'*

BH

/

Harrow. 337

CHAPTER III.

BIOGRAPHICAL.
Eminent Hamrvians,

From the foundation of Harrow School until the middle of
the seventeenth century, few but parochial children were edu-
cated within its walls, and the names of their instructors, even
if preserved, hardly call for special observation. The following
list comprehends all the Head Masters from the period when
the institution first began to occupy a position on a level with
the leading schools of the country : —

1656. WiUiam Home.
1685. Thomas Brean.
1730. James Cox.
1745. Thomas Thackeray.
1760. Robert Sumner.
1 771. Benjamin Heath.

1785. Joseph Drury. -t-

1805. George Butler.

1829. Charles T. Longley. ^

1836. Charles Wordsworth. V^

1845. Charles Vaughan.

1859. H. M. Butler.

When it is remembered that the advantages of Harrow School
' were for sixty years confined to the humblest ranks, and that
I her history as a School of importance began scarcely 200 years
ago, the array of distinguished names upon her roll is certainly
remarkable. Among the most prominent are William Baxter,^
the celebrated antiquary and philologist ; John Dennis,*

1 Though Baxter was a man of unquestionable learning, he was not a man
of cultivated taste ; and his edition of Horace exposed him to the ridicule
of some Continental critics. It is said of him, that his education had been
so neglected in early life, that, at eighteen years of age, he knew no language
but his native one — Welsh.

> Aiming to be a poet, Dennis signally failed, but he was a critic of no
mean order. In those ignoble quarrels to which Pope descended, Dennis

z is

^^■

/-

(

338 The Great Schools of EngianiL

the critic ; James Bruce,^ the famous traveller ; Sir Wil-
liam Jones;* Dr. Bennett, Bishop of Cloyne; Dr. Samuel

is a foremoflt figare ; but the only reasons Pope had for attacking men like
Dennis were, that they were poor and had wounded his vanity. The temper
of Dennis was by nature fierce and vindictive; and it appears to have
become worse by misfortune, and perhaps intemperance. He had more than
one eccentricity, or rather monomania. For instance, he was possessed by
a ridiculous Gallophobia, to which Voltaire alludes, and thought that the
whole French nation had entered into a conspiracy against him.

^ Few men have suffered more from calumny than this celebrated traveller.
After the most toilsome and terrible adventures, he was treated, daring his
lifetime, as a mendacious impostor; but recent explorers admit that the
great analogy which they have found between the narratives of Bruce and
the details gathered in the annals of Abyssinia, prove that the iU-used
traveller was as conscientious as he was intrepid and indefatigable. M.
Leon de Suborde has given eloquent and honourable testimony to the

7 worth of Bruce : *' Has not Bruce been attacked, misrepresented, and
vilified? Has not this able and enterprising traveller, so well prepared
y for an expedition so magnificently conducted, been wounded by the blows
of envious calumny ? How does the case now stand T The only impostors
are his adversaries, and nothing was false but their slander. Every year
has seen some assertion of the noble adventurer confirmed. A new Hero-
dotus, though in harmony with our epoch, he had to encounter the same

'^ reproaches and disquiets as the Father of History."

""^ ' Jones first went to Harrow in 1 753, but an accident soon afterwards
disabled him, and for nearly twelve months he was confined to his bed at
home. When he returned to School he had of course fallen behind his
contemporaries in Greek and Latin, and his preceptor urged him forward
with a severity which, in after life, Jones ''ever remembered with abhor-
rence." This injudicious taskmaster was probably the Rev. W. Prior, for
Dr. Thackeray expressed the highest possible opinion of young Jones,
declaring that, " if left naked and friendless on Salisbury Plain, he would
nevertheless find a road to fame and riches."

He appears, indeed, to have enjoyed an unexampled reputation for
learning and ability while at School. His acquirements even then were
not limited to Greek and Latin ; he had mastered also both French and
Italian, and the rudiments of Arabic, Persian, and Sanskrit

On entering at University College, Oxford^ he found his proficiency in
Eastern literature an impediment to his progress. He obtained a Fellow-
ship, however, and became private tutor to Lord Althorpe, with whom he
travelled repeatedly on the Continent He subsequently went to the Bar,
became known to the London wits, and was elected a member of The Club,
established by Dr. Johnson. After ten years of professional labour, he was

>

7

Harrow, 339

Parr;^ Lord Rodney;^ R. R Sheridan;' Tate Wilkin^
SON, the eccentric Manager and Actor ; the MarquiT^f

appointed to an Indian judgeship, and sailed for Calcutta, where, during
the remainder of his valuable life, he diligently and honestly discharged the
duties of his office, and contributed more perhaps than any man of his time
to the diffusion of a taste for the study of the history, antiquities, poetry,
and religion of the East Before the dose of his career, he is said to have
made himself acquainted, critically, with eight languages. Eight others
had been studied by him less perfectly; and on twelve more he had
bestowed considerable attention. But Sir William Jones was more than
: a great linguist He was a poet, a philosopher, and the unflinching
advocate of freedom. "He united," Dr. Parr says, **to exquisite taste,
and learning quite unparalleled, the most benevolent temper and the purest
morals ; it is happy for us that this man was bom."

^ Parr was bom at Harrow-on-the-HiLl, his father being a surgeon of that
place. From childhood he is described as being studious, and as showing
thus early an inclination for the Church. When only nine or ten years of
age he would put on one of his father's shirts for a surplice, and after
duly summoning hb sister and her cousin by a bell tied to the banisters,
would read the Church Service, and then preach a sermon to them ; and
in spite of his father's remonstrances, would even bury a bird or a kitten
with the rites of Christian burial 1 He was admitted on the foundation of
Harrow School in 1756, and in 1761, before he had completed his four*
teenth year, had risen to be captain. His chief intimates at this time were
William Beimett, afterwards Bishop of Cloyne, and William Jones, the
Orientalist, just mentioned. Dr. Bennett, speaking of him in after life,
remarks, *' Parr never was a boy." And Parr himself used to tell of
walking out one day with Jones, when the latter stopped short suddenly,
and looking hard at him, said, "Parr, if you should have the good luck
to live forty years, you may stand a chance of overtaking your face."
/^"Bill, Will, and Sam," as they were called, remained firm friends, and
were as much distinguished during their school days as in after life. They
challenged one another to trials of skill in imitations of popular authors.
They wrote and acted a tragedy together ; the ftiture judge styling himself
EuryaluSy King of Arcadia ; the embryo bishop figuring as Nisus, King of
Argoi ; and Parr assuming the double dignity of Leander^ Prince of Sestos
and Abydos, ** Bishop Will," in manhood, was the mildest of Tories ;
*' Scholar Sam," an uncompromising Whig ; and ** Judge Bill," a philo-
sophical Liberal : yet in spite of the diversity of their opinions, tempers,
and callings, the friendship begun at School between these estimable men
lasted as long as they lived.

After leaving School, Parr having tried in vain to reconcile himself to the
" uttering of mortal drugs " for three years, entered at Emmanuel College,

Z a Cambridge

yi JlcU ;-^^

/ -;

V^

&^^ (7^^]>

340 7^ Great Schools of England,

Cambridge. He remained at College about twelve months, when the death
of his father cut off his resources, and with a heavy heart he quitted the
University. Dr. Sumner, then Head Master of Harrow, offered him the
post of First Assistant, which Parr accepted ; and in his old School he spent
five years as happily and usefully as any in his life. The sudden death of
Dr. Sumner, the rebellion which ensued upon the election of Dr. Heath,
and Pan's ill-starred attempt to maintain a rival School at Stanmore, have
been previously narrated. Parr subsequently accepted the Mastership of
Colchester School ; and two years later that of the School at Norwich.
Ixi 1785, having during the interim taken orders, he retired to Hatton
near Warwick, and there resided to the close of his life in 1825, fiiUy
occupied in the sacred duties of his profession, and in what Lord Macaulay
calls "his labours in that dark and profound mine, from which he had
extracted a vast treasure of erudition — a treasure too oflen buried in the
earth, too often paraded with injudicious and inelegant ostentation, but
still precious, massive, and splendid."

Parr's best known works are his epitaphs, his Spital Sermon, his vindi-
cation of Fox, his Letter from Irenopdis^ and his Latin preface to a reprint
of the dissertation of Bellendenus, de Tribus Luminibus Romanorum,

His undoubted talents and equally unquestioned virtues, were chequered
with some faults, and many eccentricities. He was fierce and irascible,
yet singularly merciful and tender ; vehement in his dislikes, but warm-
hearted and faithful in his friendships. He was in fact as Sir William
Jones described him, " one great antithesis," but his virtues were at least
as conspicuous as his failings. '^Though stricken by poverty, he was never
tamed into meanness, but emei^ged from sixty years' comparative iK'ant into
affluence, with a spirit that would have done justice to the revenues of
a sultan. He was frank, ingenuous, unguarded ; incapable alike of uttering
a falsehood and suppressing a truth— his maxim still was, **ne quidfaisi
dicere audeat^ ne quid vert non audeat,*'*

■ By his splendid victories over the French, shortly before their terrible
Revolution, Lord Rodney not only justly punished them for the assistance
given to the Americans during the war widi this country, but he confirmed
England's naval supremacy, and restored the lustre which the loss of the
North American Colonies had tarnished,

* Sheridan left his Dublin School with the character of "an impene-
trable dunce "; and certainly at Harrow, where he entered on tke Founda-
tion in 17^2, he gave small proof of talent, smaller promise of dramatic and
oratorical achievements. His failing, however, was not stupidity, but an
incorrigible repugnance to steady application. Dr. Sumner and Dr. Parr
both discovered talents in him, though they could never stir his abilities
into activity. "It was agreed between us," says the latter, "that Dick '
Sheridan, who was not only slovenly in construing, but unusually defective
in his Greek Grammar, should be called up oftener and worked more

Harrow. 341

Hastings,^ Governor-General of India ; Spencer Perceval ;
RevrVviLLiAM Harness ; Lord Byron ; ^ thelate Sir Robert

y

/.

severely. He was not sufTered to stand ap in his place, but was summoned
to take his station near the master's table, where the voice of no prompter
could reach him, and in this defenceless condition he was so harassed, that
he at last gathered up some grammatical rules^ and prepared himself for his
lessons.''

The habits of indolence, which he indulged at School, we all know he
adhered to through life ; and in spite of the versatility and brilliance of his
intellect, he conveys the impression of having been one of those vagrant
geniuses whose failings and follies are a part of their individuality, and
who, if tamed down to sober sense, might never have risen above a decent
mediocrity.

^ The most illustrious office which the Crown of England has to give —
the Governor-Generalship of India — was never better merited than by this
distinguished nobleman. His life was one of incessant toil, and his activity , ^
and energy were as unconquerable as his valour. It is no reproach to the
Marquis of Hastings to say that his policy and that of the East India
Company generally conflicted ; for the power of England in India would
never have extended so rapidly or so gloriously, if the narrow notions of
the East India Company had always been adopted as a guide.

' Lord Byron has left a few interesting notices of his life at Harrow
School. *' At school I was remarked for the extent and readiness of my
general information, but in all other respects idle ; capable of great sudden
exertions (such as thirty or forty Greek hexameters, of course with such pro-
sody as it pleased God), but of few continuous drudgeries. My qualities were
much more oratorical and martial than poetical, and Dr. Drury, my grand
patron (our Head Master), had a great notion that I should turn out an
orator, from my fluency, my turbulence, my voice, my copiousness of decla-
mation, and my action. • . . Peel, the orator and statesman, was my form-
fellow, and we were both at the top of our remove (a Public School phrase).
We were on good terms, but his brother was my intimate friend. There were
always great hopes of Peel amongst us all, masters and scholars — and he
has not disappointed them. As a scholar he was greatly my superior ; as a
dedaimer and actor I was reckoned at least his equal ; as a school-boy out
of School, I was always in scrapes, and he never ; and in School^ he always
knew his lesson, and I rarely — ^but when I knew it, I knew it nearly as
well. In general information, history, &c. &c. I think I was his superior,
as well as of most boys of my standing*

'*The prodigy of our school-days was George Sinclair (son of Sir John) ;
he made exercises for half the School, {literally) verses at will, and themes
without it. He was a friend of mine, and in the same remove, and used at
times to beg me to let him do my exercise — a request always most readily

accorded

342 The Great Schools of England,

Peel;^ Theodore Hook; Earl Spencer; the K\rl of

accorded upon a pinch, or when I wanted to do something else, which was
usually once an hour. On the other hand, he was pacific, and I savage ; so
I fought for him, or thrashed others for him, or thrashed himself to make
him thrash others when it was necessary, as a point of honour and stature,
that he should so chastise ; or we talked politics, for he was a great poli-
tician, and were very good friends 1 "

In another of his manuscript journals^ he says, " At Harrow I fought my
way very fairiy. I think I lost but one battle out of seven, and that was

to H ; and the rascal did not win it, but by the unfair treatment of his

own boarding-house where we boxed — I had not even a second. My most
memorable combats were with Morgan, Rioe, Rainsford, and Lord Jocelyn
— but we were always friendly afterwards. I was a most unpopular boy,
but led latterly, and have retained many of my school fiiendships, and sdl
my dislikes— except to Dr. Butler, whom I treated rebelliously, and have
^ been sorry ever since. Dr. Drury, whom I plagued sufficiently too, was
the best, the kindest (and yet strict too) friend I ever had."

On a leaf of his Scriptores Grteci he wrote : — ** George Gordon Byron,
Wednesday, June 26th, A.D. 1805, three quarters of an hour past three
o'clock in the afternoon, 3d School, Calvert, monitor ; Tom Wildman on
my left hand, and Long on my right — ^Harrow-on-the-HilL" Five years
after he added upon the same leaf: —

*^ Eheu fugaces^ Posthumet J^sthumet
Labuntur anm.

B. Jan. 9, 1809. Of the four persons whose names are here mentioned,
one is dead, another in a distant climate, cUl separated, and not five years
have elapsed since they sat together in school, and none are yet twenty-one
years of age."

^ Peel and Byron were contemporaries in the strictest sense, for Byit>n
was bom on the 22d of January, 1788, and Peel on the 5th of February
following. Peel upon leaving Harrow went to Oxford, and there he took
the highest honours. In 18091 gleaming with the fame of academical dis-
tinctions, he entered Parliament, where for more than forty yeara he was to
be a prominent figure. A few days after his lamented~death, M. Dupin,
President of the French L^slative Assembly, in paying a generous tribute
to the deceased statesman, which was much applauded, remarked that,
in the course of Peel's long life, he had never manifested toward France
any other sentiments but those of benevolence and justice. Peel has
been called " the wise and glorious counsellor of a free pjeople." Guizot,
who published a work on him, says that '*he died lamented alike by his
sovereign and by the people, and respected and admired by the ad-
versaries whom he had vanquished, as well as by the friends who had

IP

Harrow, 343

Ripok; Lord Aberdeen;^ Lord Palmerston;* the Hon.
W. R. Spencer ; ^ the^EARL of Cottenham, late Lord Chan-
lived with him.'' Entering more fully into an analysis of Peel's character,
M. Guizot speaks thus, *' He was a man of the citizen class, on whom had
fallen the mission of compelling a prond and powerful aristocracy to submit
to reforms which were profoundly repugnant to them. He was a Liberal
— sage and moderate, but truly a Liberal — who forced the old Tories and
the ultra-Protestants to follow him. And this man of the citizen class, who
became so great, was a person of a concentrated and not very Sjrmpathetic
character, of cold and awkward mannen» — skilful in directing and domi-
nating, but not suited to act on men by the charm of urbanity. More of
a tactician than a missionary, more powerful by argument than by sensa-
tional contact, more formidable to his adversaries than attractive to his
partisans."

^ Lord Aberdeen was not a great statesman, but he was truly patriotic
and honest ; not a great orator, but he had nevertheless the eloquence
which springs from profound and disinterested convictions. He was at
once before and behind his time, as men who connect two generations ^
often are.

' After quitting Harrow, Lord Palmerston studied first at Edinburgh and
then at Cambridge. A man who has been in Parliament nearly sixty years,
who has taken a conspicuous part, not only in affairs at home, but alsoTn
those abroad ; who has exercised a greater influence on foreign afiairs than
any English statesman since the elder or the younger Pitt ; who has been
alike the most popular and the most vituperated of Prime Ministers, caimot
oe characterized in a few brief sentences.

Lord Palmerston is said to be the author of several anonymous produc-
tions, and though he is too wise a man to make a parade of learning, yet
'^ the aroma of scholarship flavours his most insignificant utterances. He has
undouBteciry the true Horatian taste and feeling.

s Perhaps no man of his day was so universally a favourite in fashionable
society as William Robert Spencer. He was the youngest son of Lord
Charles Spencer (the second son of the second Duke of Marlborough) and
of Lady Mary Beauclerk, granddaughter of the first Duke of St Alban's.
He quitted Harrow for Oxford, where, though an erratic student, the
extraordinary tenacity of his memory enabled him to pass very creditably.
Upon leaving the University he made the Continental tour, and on his
return to England entered into all the gaiety of the highest London life.
For a few months he sat as member of Parliament for his uncle's borough,
Woodstock, but resigned his seat on receiving the appointment of Commis-
sioner of Stamps. During this, the sunniest period of his career, he wrote
several gracefiil little poems, and published a translation of Biirger's
Leonore, which was well received.

The

344 ^^ Great Schools of England.

cellor ; the laife Marquis Dalhousie ; the Marquis of Aber-
CORN ; the late Lord Herbert of Lea ; the Earl of

The fascination of his manners, the vivacity of his convexsation, and the
complacency of his temper, made him the delight of the society in which
he moved. " Did you know William Spencer, the P&et of Society^ as they
used to call him?" asked Lord Byron of Lady Blessington. '* His was
really an elegant mind ; polished, graceful, sentimental ; ¥nth just enough
gaiety to prevent his being lachrymose, and just enough sentiment to
prevent his fun being too Anacreontic."

About 1825, his fortune, never large, became inadequate to the require-
ments of his family, and he was compelled to retire to Paris. There he
resided till his death in 1834 ; the joylessness of his old age forming a
striking contrast to the splendid vitality of his youth and manhood. There,
not long before his death, he wrote those affecting and expressive lines
which lingered to the last in the memory of Sir Walter Scott, who, when
himself a sick and worn-out man, entered them in his diary with an '* Alas,
poor Yorick 1 " to the memory of their once brilliant author : —

THE VISIONARY.

When midnight o'er the moonless skies
Her pall of transient death has spread.
When mortals sleep, when spectres rise,
And nought is wakeful but the dead {

No bloodless shape my way pursues,
No sheeted ghost my couch annoys.
Visions more sad my fancy views —
Visions of long-departed joys !

The shade of youthful hope is there,
' That lingered long, and latest died ;
Ambition all dissolved to air.
With phantom honours at her side.

What empty shadows glimmer nigh I
They once were friendship, truth, and love !
Oh, die to thought, to memory die,
Since lifeless to my heart ye prove I

He was buried, in compliance with his earnest desire, in Harrow Church,
where a tablet has been erected to his memory ; on which there is not, but
on which there should be, inscribed what was said of him by his friend
Henry Hallam :— " I shall ever cherish the remembrance of what he was
in better days — of his brilliancy and vivacity of wit, his ready knowledge,
his strong natural acuteness, united as these were with much sweetness of
disposition and a warm affection for his friends."

mmmmmimmmmm

^

Harrow. 345

Shaftesbury ; ^ the Earl of Hardwicke; the Bishop of
ATelbourne; the Bishop of St. Andrew's; Sir Henrv
I^YTTON BuLWER ; Dr. Trench,* the Archbishop of Dublin ;
Sir T. T. Platt, Baron of the Exchequer ; Earl Fortescue ;
Sir T. D. AcLAND \ Mr. Beresford Hope ; and the present
Sir Robert Peel.

GOVERNORS OF HARROW SCHOOL IN 1865.

Marquis of Abercom.
£^rl of Clarendon.
Earl of Venilam. ^^

Lord Northwick.

Right Hon. T. H. S. Estcourt, M.P.

G. C. Glynn, Esq. M.P.

PRESENT MASTERS.

Head Master — Rev. H. Montagu Butler, M.A.
Lower Master ^Q, F. Harris, Esq. M.A.

Assistant Masters,

In Classics.

Rev. F. Rendall, M.A.
E. H. Vaughan, Esq. M.A.
Rev. T. H. Steel, M.A.
Rev. B. F. Westcott, M.A.
Rev. E. N. Bradby, M.A.
C. F. Holmes, Esq. M.A.
W. J. Bull, Esq. M.A.

A. G. Watson, Esq. D.C.L.
Rev. J. Smith, M.A.
Rev. F. W. Farrar, M.A.
H. E. Hutton, Esq. M.A.
E. E. Bowen, Esq. M.A.
R. B. Smith, M.A.
Rev. L. Sanderson, M.A.

1 One Earl of Shaftesbury was famous as a politician ; another as an
author. The present Earl of Shaftesbury will not hereafter be thought
less eminent than either, as a philanthropist To him England is indebted
for some of the most merciful social reformations. He has not merely
directed public attention to the condition of the labouring classes; he has
not merely been the benefactor of these classes, but he has taught them to
be their own redeemers.

> Harrow might well rejoice beyond a common joy, when this gifted man
was clothed with the highest ecclesiastical dignity, and when, himself many-
sided, he was appointed the successor of the many-sided Whately. It
would be difficult to name a prelate so variously accomplished as Arch-
bishop Trench. He is at once preacher and poet ; theologian, philologist,
and commentator ; a learned man with the faculty of putting his learning
into popiilar shapes ; and with sympathies as wide as his ideas are com-
prehensive.

34^ The Great Schools of En^nd.

In Mathematics.

Rev. R. Middlemist, M.A. I R. B. Hayward, Esq. M.A.

Rev. H. W. Watson, M.A. I J. F. Marillier, Esq.

In Modem Languages,
Monsieur G. Ruault. | Monsieur G. Masson.

Extra Masters.

Military ^aj/«r— Major Griffiths, R. A.

Drawing Master— 'T, Wood, Esq.

Fencing Masteri^Messn, Angelo.

Harrow. 347

CHAPTER IV.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE ROYAL

COMMISSIONERS.

"All the General Recommendations are^ in our opinion,
applicable to Harrow. Many of them only embody what is
now, to a greater or less extent, the subsisting practice of the
School This is the case, for example, with General Recom-
mendation XIII. The present periodical meetings of the
Assistant Masters are, in effect^ meetings of a School Council.
It is right that we should add, with reference to the General
Recommendation XXX. that the fagging at Harrow appears,
at present, to be slight and well-regulated, and to involve no
hardship to the younger boys, and no troublesome calls upon
their time.
We add the following Special Recommendations : —

1. That the Governors of Harrow School should hereafter be
twelve in number.

2. That the Governors should be persons qualified by posi-
tion, or by attainments in literature or science, to fill that
situation with advantage to the School, and should be members
of the Established Church ; but that no one should be deemed
disqualified by reason of his not being resident or possessed of
property within the parish of Harrow.

3. That of the six new Governors who will be required to
raise the number to twelve, three at least should be elected
with especial reference to attainments in literature or science ;
and that in future one fourth at least of the twelve Governors
should always be chosen on the same principle.

4. That, whenever the whole body of Governors is complete.

348 The Great Schools of England.

or is not less than ten, five should be a quorum ; and that,
whenever it is below ten, a proportion not less than half the
actual number of Ck)vemors should constitute a quorum.

5. That the privilege of free education given to children of
inhabitants within the parish of Harrow should be abolished,
due provision being made, by fixing a term of convenient
length for the final extinction of it or otherwise, to prevent
hardship to persons who may have come to reside at Harrow
with the intention of availing themselves of the privilege.

6. That the right of preference in elections to John Lyon's
Scholarships in favour of boys bom within the parish of Harrow,
and all privileges and rights of preference given to boys of the
kindred of the Founder, should likewise be abolished.

7. That the number of boys in the School, including Foun-
dationers and home-boarders, should never exceed- 500.

8. That the maximum age for admission into the Fourth
Form should be fourteen ; for the Shell, fifteen : and for the
Fifth Form, sixteen ; and that no boy should be allowed to
remain at the School after he has passed either of those ages
without obtaining promotion into the Form for which it is the
maximum, unless he shall fall within the exceptions mentioned
in General Recommendation XXV.

9. That the study of Natural Science, and that of Music or
Drawing shall respectively form parts of the regular school-
work of each boy, from his admission to the School until he
reaches the second division of the Fifth Form.

10. That the permission to discontinue some part of the
school-work, in order to devote more time to some other part
of it (General Recommendation XHI.), should not be given to
any boy till he has reached the second division of the Fifth
Form.

11. That some part of the original composition should be
exchanged for translations from Latin and Greek into English,
both oral translation (as distinct from construing) and written,
and that, in estimating the merit of such translations, due
regard should be paid to the correctness and purity of the
English.

Harrow. 349

12. That a prize or prizes should be given for essays in
English on some subject taken from modem history, and that
English composition should be cultivated in the lower division
of the Sixth Form,

13. That the careful recitation of English prose and poetry,
and of Latin and Greek prose, should be practised occasionally
during the school-terms, and that prizes should be given for
recitation.

14. That the capitation payment to the Lower Master of
3/. out of the School charges should be abolished ; that the
Governors should be empowered either to abolish the office of
Lower Master or to assign to it such a stipend, if any, as they
may think fit, but that such stipend should be small, unless
substantial duties are assigned to the Lower Master.

15. That the attention of the Governors should be directed
to the following subjects : — (i) The size and ventilation of the
school-rooms, and the general sanitary regulations of the
School ; (2) The insuffifciency of the cricket-ground, and the i
desirableness of acquiring more space for cricket.

16. That the Governors should provide for the erection of a
suitable building, with a view to the accommodation of the
English Form, and for maintaining a suitable staff of Masters
to instruct the boys attending it."

350 7^ Great Schools of England.

RUGBY.

"nihil sine labohando.**

CHAPTER I.— HISTORICAL.

" There is a little town, within short space
Of England's central point, of various brick
Irregularly built, nor much adorned
By architectural craft — save that, indeed.
As you approach it Irom the south, a pile
Of questionable Gothic lifts its head
With somewhat of a grave, collegiate air.
Not unbefitting what in truth it is —
A seat of academic discipline
And classic education.

Moultrie.

" The noble impulse of Christian charity in the founding of
Grammar Schools,'* says Dr. Knight, in his Life of Dr, John
Colet^ "was one of the providential ways and means for
bringing about the blessed Reformation ; and it is, therefore,
observable that, within thirty years before it, there were more
grammar schools erected and endowed in England than had

been in three hundred years preceding And after the

Reformation was established, the piety and charity of Protestants
ran so fast in this channel, that in the next age there wanted
rather a regulation of grammar schools than an increase of
them." Under the influence of this noble impulse, probably, it
was that about the middle of the sixteenth century, Lawrence
Sheriff, a benevolent citizen of London, determined to appro-
priate a portion of his property to the Foundation of a Free

Rugly. 351

School and an Almshouse in his native village of Rugby. The
property which he devoted to the purposes declared in the
deed called his " Intent" was given partly by a legal convey-
ance, dated the 22d of July, 1567, partly by his will bearing
the same date, and partly by a codicil to his will dated the
3 ist of August in the same year. It consisted of the glebe and
parsonage of Brownsover, together with other lands both in
that village and in Rugby, to which in the first instance he
proposed to add a sum of money. With the profits of these
lands and tenements, and the money to be left, his friends,
George Harrison and Bernard Field, two citizens of London,
to whom he had assigned the property in trust, were with
convenient speed after his decease, to '' cause to be builded
neare to the messuage or mansion-house of the said Lawrence
in Rugby aforesaid, a fayre and convenyent schoole howse, in
such sort as to theire discretions shal bee thought meete and
convenyent, and should also provide or build neare to the
said schoole house foure meete and distincte lodgeings for
foure poore men to bee and abyde in, accordinge to their good
discretions, and should alsoe well and sufficiently repayre the
said messuage or mansyon-howse, which things being efifec-
tually done, the will and the intent of the said Lawrence was
and is, that the said George and Bernard, or their heires or
assignes, or some of them, should cause an honest, discreete,
and learned man, being a Master of Arts, to bee reteyned to
teach a free grammar schoole in the said schoole howse : And
further, that after that, for ever there should be a free grammar
schoole kept within the said schoole house, to serve chiefly for 1/
the children of Rugby and Brownesover aforesaid, and next
for such as bee of other places thereunto adjoyneing, and that
for ever an honest, discreete, learned man should be chosen
and appointed to teach grammar freely in the same schoole,
and the same man, yf it may conveniently bee, to bee ever a
m'of arte; And further, the will and intent of tlTesaidXaw^
rence was and is, the same schoole shall bee for ever called
the Free Schoole of Lawrence Sheriffe, of London, grocer, and
that the schoolem' thereof for the tyme beinge, for ever, shall

35 a ^^ Great Schools of Errand.

be termed or called the schoolemaster of Lawrence Sherifie of
London, grocer, and that the schoolmaster and his successors
for ever shal have the said mansyon-house with the appuiten'ce
to dwell in without anything to be paid therefore : And further,
that the said schoolm' of the said schoole for ever should have
yearly for his sallary or wages the some of twelve poundes ;
and over this, the will and intent of the said Lawrence was
and is, that for ever, in the said foure lodgeings, foure poore
men should freely have their lodgeings and should also each of
them have towards their reliefe seaven [pence] by the week, to
be weekly paid at Rugby aforesaid ; and that of the said foure
poore men, twoe should ever be such as had beene inhabitants
of Rugby aforesaid, and none other, and the other twoe such
as had beene inhabitants of Brownesoever aforesaid, and none
other ; and also, that the said foure poore men should bee for
ever called the Almsmen of Lawrence Sheriffe, of London,
grocer : And further, the will and intent of the said Lawrence
was and is, that the mansyon-howse, schoole howse, and other
lodgeing should be sufficiently repayred & mayntayned for
ever, all which the p'misses the said Lawrence Sherifie willed
and intended to bee borne, paide, and p'formed of the rente
and p'fitte of the p'misses so as is aforesaid bargayned and
solde."

For reasons not now known. Sheriff, by a codicil to his will,
revoked a portion of his money bequest, leaving only 50/. and
substituting for the rest a third part of an estate he possessed
in Middlesex, called the "Conduit Close." The change at
that time probably appeared the reverse of a beneficial one
to the charity. The portion of the " Close " bequeathed to
the Rugby charity consisted but of about eight acres of open
pasture land lying half a mile outside London, and then
valueless for building purposes, since a Royal Order had passed
prohibiting the creation of new houses within three miles of
the city gates.

But to those few acres, then let for 8/. per annum, Rugby
School is mainly indebted for its opulence and greatness. The
Close, of which they formed a part, was let as early as 1686 to

wmf^mmm

Ru^y. 353

one Dr. Nicholas Barbon^ on lease for 50/. per annum. When
sixteen years of Dr. Barbon's term had expired, the property
came into the hands of Sir William Milman, Kt by whom it
was held at a rent clear of all deductions, of 60/. per annum.
It has now upon it about 150 houses, besides small tenements,
coach*houses, stables, &c. occupying the greater portion of
Lamb's Conduit Street, New Ormond Street, Great Ormond
Street, Great James' Street, Milman Street, &c. and produces
perhaps not much less than 5,000/. a year.

Of the origin and career of Lawrence Sheriff, scarcely any-
thing is known. He was bom at Rugby, but the precise date
of his birth has never been ascertained, and his parents are
supposed to have been of a respectable rank in life by their
burial within the parish church — ^a privilege rarely permitted
in former times except to persons of property and conse-
quence.

Early in the reign of Queen Mary we find him in London, a
member of the Grocer's Company, and himself engaged in that
line of business. From an anecdote related of him in Foxe's
Ads and Monuments^ it may be inferred that he was a staunch
Protestant and a loyal adherent of the Princess Elizabeth,
under whom he appears to have held some office. The story,
divested of the honest, but prejudiced Martjrrologist's verbiage,
is this : — ^A neighbour of Sheriff, too much addicted to sack
and babbling, named Robert Farrar, "fortuned in a certain
morning to be at the Rose Tavern (from whence he was seldom
absent), and falling to his common drink, as he was ever accus-
tomed," began to " talk at large " before Sheriff, who was also
at the Rose, against the Lady Elizabeth, calling her a " Jill,"
accusing her of complicity in Wyatfs rebellion, and expressing
a hope that she and her friends would " hop headless, or be
fried with faggots" before she reached the Crown. Sheriff,
who is described as " servant to the Lady Elizabeth and sworn
unto her grace," being indignant at Farrar's irreverence, deter-
mined to complain of him to the Commissioners. Accordingly,
taking an honest neighbour with him, he shortly after went
before them with his grievance. The Commissioners, with

A A

354 ^^ Great Schools of England.

Bonner, then Bishop of London, at their head, sat at Bonner^s
house beside St. Paul's. After relating the manner of Farrar^s
talk against the Lady Elizabeth, Sheriff declared that it was
intolerable " that such a varlet as he is, should call so honour-
able a princess by the name of a Jill, and to wish them to hop
headless that shall wish her Grace to enjoy the possession of
the Crown when God shall send it her."

Bonner remarked, " When God sendeth it unto her let her
enjoy it" In the meantime he recommended the loyal grocer
to go his way, and report well of the Commissioners, who
would take care to call his neighbour to account for his
rashness and indiscretion.

In what capacity Sheriff at this period served or was " sworn
unto" the Princess Elizabeth does not appear, but as he speaks
before the Commissioners of the respect shown to her in his
presence, as well by Cardinal Pole as by her brother-in-law
King Philip, it is very probable that he was one of the gentle-
men of her guard or privy chamber. Tradition tells us that
his loyalty was not unrequited, for when Elizabeth came to
the throne she made him an Esquire, and gave him a grant of
Arms.

At the time of the Founder's death in October, 1567, the
Warwickshire property produced 16/. 131. 4//. ; the Middlesex
8/. per annum. Of which 24/. 13J. 4//. income, the School-
master was to receive 1 2/. and the almsmen 6/. i \s. 4//.

In the course of the first hundred years following, the
growth and even the existence of the Institution were seriously
threatened. The survivor of his two Trustees is said to have
applied to his own benefit the rents of the property in Middle-
sex. After several vain attempts made by successive Masters
of the School, who drew their stipends in part from this estate,
to recover it by legal proceedings, it was at last rescued, with
all arrears of rent, through the Report of a Commission issued
under the Great Seal in the year 1614. Twelve gentlemen of the
county of Warwick were then appointed Trustees, thus setting
aside the succession to that office which the Founder's will had
vested in the heirs of Harrison and Field.

Ji^h* 355

When the London property was thus recovered, dangers of
the same kind were impending over part of the Warwickshire
estate. The descendants of the first lessee for life of the
Brownsover property, from which the remainder of the School
income was drawn, claimed and exercised rights of owner-
ship over the estate, on the alleged ground that the rent of
i6A 135. 4^. at which the Founder had leased it, constituted
the whole interest taken by the School in that estate. A
second inquisition was held, therefore, in the year 1653 at
Rugby, in consequence of which the acts of the lessee were
declared to be illegal, and restitution was ordered and made,
with pa3rment of arrears amounting to 742/. %s, 4//.

In 1653 another inquisition was held by Commissioners
appointed under the Great Seal, and twelve new Trustees were
chosen, who were to meet at Rugby and visit the School and
Almshouses four times in every year. From this time there is no
reason to believe that the trust was improperly managed ; but
the income from the property a centuiy and a half after Sheriff's
death had become altogether inadequate to carry out his views
and to repair the dilapidations of the ancient buildings. The
clear yearly proceeds fi-om the School estates were found to be,
communibus anniSy no more than 116/. 17X. 6d. Of this sum
6^1. 6s. Sd. were appropriated to the Master's salary, and the
remainder to the relief and clothing of the four almsmen, and
to the restoration of the buildings belonging to the charity.
The Trustees determined, therefore, to apply to Parliament
for powers enabling them to carry out more effectually the
benevolent intentions of the Founder. In their petition they
described the mansion-house bequeathed by Sheriff for the use
of his Schoolmaster, the School, and the other premises annexed
to it, as having become too ruinous to be worth repair. They
further stated that the Schoolhouse was situated in a place too
much confined, and without any ground or enclosure adjoining
for the recreation of the boys. They also represented that a
large and convenient newly-built house, with a parcel of ground,
both contiguous to the trust estate in Rugby and well adapted
for a School and place of exercise for the Scholars, was then

A A a

356 The Great Schools of England.

on sale. They applied, therefore, for an Act to enable them to
raise a certain sum of money by mortgage or sale of a part of
the Middlesex property, declaring that, unless means were
spedily obtained, the Free School, which had been for many
years in great repute, and of much public utility, must be
abandoned.

Having succeeded in obtaining the necessary powers from
Parliament, the Trustees proceeded forthwith to remove the
School to a more eligible locality. In the first instance they
had in view the purchase of the newly-built house above-
mentioned, adjoining the original property, and facing the
Market-place ; but they ultimately fixed upon a site in every
way preferable— that on which the School now stands. The
residence they bought was the manor-house of Rugby ; and
what made the purchase peculiarly desirable was four fields
attached, capable of affording every accommodation that could
be desired for the recreation of the boys. Adjoining the west
side of the mansion-house, which was retained as the residence
of the Head Master, a new Schoolroom was built, and thither,
in 175s, the School was transplanted.

The new building, which was of brick, stood as nearly as
possible on the site of the present Schoolhouse-hall, and is said
by those who have seen the drawings of it, still preserved, to
have been about as hideous a structure as could well be met
with.

Sir William Milman's lease expired in 1779, and in the year
1777 was passed the statute of 17 Geo. III. c. 71, which was
prepared by Sir John Eardly Wilmot, Lord Chief Justice of the
Common Pleas, then one of the Trustees of the charity. • This
Act, in anticipation of the large accession of income which
would result to the charity on the termination of Sir William
Milman's lease, enacts that the Trustees and their successors
should be the Trustees for selling, letting, leasing, and disposing
and managing of the charity estates, and for carrying into
execution the rules, orders, and directions set forth in the
jschedule thereto annexed. It then authorizes the Trustees to
raise 10,000/. to pay off the then existing debts of the charity

I

^i^g^y- 357

and for other purposes therein mentioned ; and when these
purposes should be effected, they were to lay a plan for the
disposal of the surplus rents before the Court of Chancery,
which was thereby authorized and directed in that and in all
cases of doubt, dispute, or difficulty which should arise touch-
ing the income of the charity or the construction of the rules,
orders, and directions in the schedule of that Act, or to be
thereafter made by the Trustees, to make such order as the said
Court should think fit, which orders were to be final and con*
elusive to all persons whatsoever. That the Trustees shall be
incorporated and called by the name and title of " the Trustees
of the Rugby Charity, founded by Lawrence Sheriff, Grocer of
London," and shall use a common seal The schedule con-
tains rules, orders, and observations for the good government
of Rugby School and charity, and relating to the nomination of
masters and ushers, their salaries and qualifications, and the
provision for them when superannuated. The boys on the
Foundation are to be instructed free of costs, and are to attend
Divine Service ; and the Act allows in addition to the Master's
salary a capitation fee of 3/. to be paid to him for each Foun-
dationer. The Trustees are to meet quarterly and to make
rules and orders for the better regulation of the said School
and the Masters and Ushers thereof, and of the almsmen. The
Trustees are empowered to build additional almshouses and to
increase the allowance of the almsmen. They are to keep all
the School buildings and almshouses in repair, and to pay all
rates and taxes in respect thereof. They are empowered to
choose a clerk and a receiver, to purchase a fire-engine, and
to elect eight exhibitioners for seven years at 40/. per annum
each.

In 1807 the total annual income derived from the Middlesex
and Warwickshire estates amounted to 2,032/. i8x. from the
former, and 91/. 7^. 6d. from the latter. The accumulation
of capital derived from fines of renewal had reached the sum
of 43,221/. 7^. I//. ; the interest on which raised the annual
revenues to 3,421/. 85. 3//. while the expenditure amounted
only to 1,690/. 1 1 J. 3^. per annum.

3 s 8 The G^eat Schools of England.

The Trustees therefore applied to the Court of Chancery,
and laid before it a scheme for the disposition of the said
43,221/. 7J. jd. stock, and the said surplus income of 1,730/. 17^.;
and by an order dated 14th April, 1808, they were empowered
to raise by the sale of Consols 14,000/. for building new schools,
and other purposes mentioned in the scheme ; to pay an addi-
tional 2/. to the master for each Foundationer; to elect thirteen
additional exhibitioners ; to pay to each 50/. per annum ; and
to increase the number of almsmen, and their allowances.

By a subsequent order of the same Court, (Jated 4th Novem-
ber 1809, the Trustees were empowered to apply further sums
in completing the buildings, and in purchasing certain property
contiguous to them.

In accordance with this order, and adopting the plan of their
architect, Mr. Hakewell, they erected the present noble and
extensive edifice, which was completed in about six years, at a
cost of 35,000/.

Ini8i4, another order enabled the Trustees to build a chapel,
the boys having hitherto either attended the parish church
or had service performed in the " Big School." More recently
other additions have been made to Mr. Hakeweirs structure, the
most conspicuous of which are the library over the gateway,
another library over the writing school, and the oriel at the
west end of the library.

The Buildings. — Of the pile of buildings constituting the pre-
sent Rugby School, the most imposing portions are the Master's
House, the Big School, and the Library. The residence of
the Head Master is extremely well arranged, and its connexion
with the boarding-house adjoining is very cleverly contrived.
Its prime interest in the eyes of Rugbeians is derived from its
having been the habitation of Dr. Arnold, whose study and the
bedroom in which he died are looked upon as hallowed ground.

The Big School forms one side of the small quadrangle, and
is the only building, with the exception of the Cliapel, in which
the whole school ever congregated at one time.

The Library is a room of especial interest at Rugby. It is
here that the Sixth Form are taught; and where they are

Ru^y^ 359

examined in June before the Trustees: Its lofty windows
" richly dight " with the Founder's initials, and various coats of
arms ; its dark oak panelling, and the massive gallery running
round, combine to give it an antique and venerable aspect
which is very attractive. The small tables in this room, at
which the Praepostors sit in lesson-time, are carved over with
the names of innumerable Rugbeians who have attained cele-
brity, and are cherished with the same respect as the walls of
the School-room in Eton and Harrow on which the names
of illustrious Etonians and Harrovians are preserved.

The CkapeL — Of late years the interior of the chapel has
been much improved by the addition of three beautifully-
painted glass windows. The subject of one called the west
window, is " The Ascension ;" another is named the " Crimean
window,'' as commemorating twenty-five Rugbeians who fell in
the Russian war ; and the third, the " Indian window," erected
in honour of Rugby Scholars who died in India during the
mutiny.

The first officially-appointed Master of Rugby School, so fiau*
as can be traced, was Mr. Nicholas Greenhill, A.M. of Mag-
dalen College, Oxford. He entered on his office in 1602, but
how long he retained it is not known. Many years before his
death he retired to Whitnash, near Leamington, of which he
was rector, where his epitaph may still be seen on the north
wall of the church with the following odd verses underneath : —

" This Green Hill, periwigd with snow.

Was levild in the spring :
This Hill the Nine and Three did know

Was Sacred to his King ;
But he must Downe, although so much divine,

Before he rise never to set, but shine.*'

Of the Masters who followed him down to 1674, the names
alone have been preserved. We then come within the limits
of a record dear to all Rugbeians, the Ru^y Register, begun
by Robert Ashbridge, who was elected to the Mastership in
1674. In this list were entered the name, parentage, age,
and residence of every boy — ^a custom which has continued

360 The Great Schools of England,

ever since. The next notable Master was Henry Holyoake of
Magdalen College, Oxford, Henricus de SaerA Quercu, as he
registered himself in the Rugby Album. He accepted office
when his very eminent abilities were in their freshest vigour,
and continued to preside over the School with undiminished
energy and influence for forty-four years. During his long and
prosperous sway the School numbered in addition to its full
compliment of Foundationers, the sons of many of the most
distinguished families in Warwickshire and the neighbouring
counties, who were received as boarders into the Master's own
family. A striking proof of his popularity as a teacher, since
the domestic arrangements are said to have been meagre in the
extreme; the Schoolroom incommodious and unhealthy, and
the want of some space for recreation and exercise notorious.
Mr. Holyoake died in 1731, and was succeeded by Mr. John
Plomer, M. A. of Wadham College, Oxford. Under this Master
the School-register exhibits a sensible decline; and, in 1742,
he resigned the appointment, for which it is said he had given
up a lucrative rectory in Northamptonshire.

The advent of Thomas Crossfield, the next Master, was
hailed as a triumph to the School. The reputation for Scholar-
ship which he had acquired as Master of the Schools of Daven-
try and Preston Capes, rapidly filled the vacant forms of
Rugby. Fifty-three boys, of whom fifty-one were Non-founda-
tioners, were entered on the list during the first year of his
rule. Fifteen more were enrolled in the following year, and
the School register had then reached a higher point than it
had ever previously attained.

In the second year of his Mastership, Mr. Crossfield un-
fortunately died. The Chair was then occupied, in 1742, by
William Knail, in whose time the School was removed to the
site on which the present buildings stand. Mr. Knail was a
Fellow of Queen's College, Oxford ; a bachelor, and somewhat
of an oddity. He resigned in 1751, and was succeeded by
John Richmond, who retained the post only four years, and yet
managed to raise the number of the School from 70 to 281 !

The next Master, Mr. Stanley Burrough, who took office in

BB

Ru^y. 361

1755, conducted the School for twenty-two years, and left
behind him the character of an amiable but not very able man.

Up to the close of Mr. Burrough's administration, in 1778,
the ordinary costume of Rugbeians was cocked hats and queues,
boys of high social position wearing scarlet coats. Those who
were sent to the School from any consideraEle distance, came
on horseback ; and the journey to it from London, which the
(^ train now performs in two hours, then occupied over two^ays.

During the long administration of Mr. Stanley Burrough
the Rugby list shrank gradually from 381 to 52, but under the
next Master, Dr. James, the School rose speedily in numbers
and repute. He brought to Rugby, Eton scholarship and dis-
cipline, both then the most effectual of the day. He found
there only 52 Scholars; in five years he ruled over 165. His
immense popularity soon rendered the one large School-room
insufficient, and a new building was added on its west side.
But the new Schools overflowed, the number of pupils rising to
nearly 300, and the Head Master was compelled to betake
himself to a bam adjoining the Dunchurch Road, which was
converted into a temporary school There, for above twenty
years, the Senior Forms were taught; and there, when the
gallery of the parish church could no longer contain them, the
boys attended Divine Service on Sundays. After the resigna-
tion of Dr. James,^ the appointment devolved upon Dr. Henry
Ingles, who had previously been Head Master of Macclesfield
School.

Dr. Ingles is said to have been a rigid disciplinarian. He
was certainly unpopular at first, and this led to what must be
considered the chief event of his dominion — the great^rebellion
of 1797. This remarkable revolt arose out of the purchase^f

^ "Dr. James's epitaph in the school chapel probably does him less than
justice when it records of him, 'Erat lepore condita gravitas.' He is said
by his old pupils to have been as fond of a joke as he was of flogging ;
and he certainly seems to have borne with much from clever boys. The late
Lord Lyttelton by times delighted and provoked him. He — ^at that time
Mr. Lyttelton — was the ringleader in a good deal of mischief at the school
in his day ; but so clever and so amiable that he met with considerable
indulgence." — A Visit to Rugby ; BlackufOocTs Magazine^ May, 1862.

362 7?i^ Great Schools of England.

\ gunpowder by one of the lads for firing a pistol. Dr. Ingles
demanded the name of the person who had sold the forbidden
article, but the tradesman had entered the purchase as tea, and
the boy was flogged for a falsehood — of course, so far, unjustly.
The school broke the cowardly tradesman's windows. The
Doctor insisted they should be paid for. The bolder spirits
protested in a round-robin, that they should not The Doctor
threatened severe measures, and the boys replied by affixing a

, petard to his school-door and blowing it off the hinges. On
the following morning, the school-bell rang out what was known
to be the tocsin of war. The benches, desks, and wainscotings
were torn down from the several Schools and burnt in the
middle of the Close. Personal violence was threatened against
the Master himself — ^the " Black Tyger," as he was irreverently
called. Matters, indeed, at length became so alarming that
the military, in the form of a recruiting party, was called in
to restore order. The result, when peace was re-established,
was that some of the rebels were expelled and some were
flogged.^

Upon the whole, the School under Dr. Ingles does not
appear to have flourished, and the numbers — which at his
accession had been 193 — declined considerably during his
supremacy.

The next Head Master was Dr. Wooll, who, at the time of
his election, was Master of Midhurst School. It is noticeable
that among the unsuccessful candidates for the Mastership,
when Dr. Ingles resigned, was Dr. Samuel Butler, a famous
Rugbeian, and then Head Master of Shrewsbury School. Dr.
Wooll had no pretensions to the scholarship of ** Sam Butler, **
but he succeeded in gaining the respect and affection of his
pupils to a degree beyond, perhaps, any of his predecessors. As
the inscription on his monument declares : " Amores omnium
singulari quidam suavitate sibi conciliavit" He was the first
to persuade the trustees to expend an annual sum of money in
books as prizes ; and it was at his solicitation that the prizes
of ten and six guineas were originally founded.

1 A Visit to Rugby,

During Dr. Ingles' Mastership there had been attempts to
get up private theatricals, but not with his cognizance. " Buck-
nill's," a dame's boarding-house, was the first place where these
representations took place ; and, connected with them, we find
a name, William Charles Macready, which has since become
of world-wide celebrity as that of one of the greatest actors of
our time. The cast of* The C($stle Spectre^ as it was played
on October 15, 1807, in Dr. WooU's time, is still preserved.
On this occasion Earl Osmond was played by T. Robinson
(afterwards Archdeacon of Madras) ; Eari Percy ^ by G. Rick-
etts (Sir G. W. Ricketts, afterwards Judge of the Supreme
Court at Madras) ; Father Philips by Willis (afterwards Pre-
bendary of Wells) ; Hassan^ by Lyttleton (now Lord Hather-
ton) ; and Reginald and Motley^ " doubled," by W. C. Macready.

" Dr. Wooll," writes Mr. Macready, " winked at the perform-
ance, or rather encouraged it, we being allowed, not only to
act the play ' after three ' to the boys, but to give an evening
representation to the people of the town and neighbourhood
after locking up."

Within twenty months of his leaving the Sixth Form at
Rugby, Mr. Macready made his first public appearance, at
Birmingham, as Romeo; and, not long after, kindly Dr. Wooll,
passing through the town, made it his special request that Mr.
Macready, sen. would allow his son to act Hamlet that evening.
Two or three of the other masters came Jfom Rugby to be
present, and the whole party dined together before the play.

Dr. Wooll retained the chair for twenty years, and raised
the School-list to the highest point in numbers (381) that it
had ever reached. He resigned in 1827, and was succeeded
by Dr._Amold, a man publicly little known at that time, but of
whom it was predicted, truly enough, that " he would change
the face of public education throughout England." The reforms
introduced by this distinguished Master at Rugby, and which
rapidly spread to the other Public Schools of England, have
been eloquently told by Dr. Stanley, in his Life of Arnold.
To him has been attributed the system of governing the School
by an aristocracy of its own members — the Praspostors of the

364 ^>^ Great Schools of England^

Sixth Fonii ; but this is an error. It existed there at least

»

from the time of Dr. James's accession — ^apparently long
before that period

Dr. Arnold was succeeded in 1842 by Dr. Tait^ow Bishop
of London, who not only persevered in all the improvements
introduced by his illustrious predecessor, but greatly enlai^ged
y the curriculum of the School He extended the study of
Mathematics, and made that of Natural Philosophy a portion
of the course. Dr. Tait held his post for eight years. The
election then fell upon Dr. Goulburn, who filled the office
for seven years and a half, and upon his retirement, in 1858,
the present distinguished Head Master, Dr. Temple, was
appointed.

Hugby. 365

CHAPTER II.

STATISTICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS.

I. Constitution of the Charity, — ^The foundation of Lawrence
Sheriff originally comprised two Trustees, a Schoolmaster, and
four Almsmen. There are now a Head Master, 7 Assistant
Classical Masters, a Mathematical Master, a Writing Master,
a Drawing Master, a Librarian, 5 Fellows, 20 Exhibitioners,
a Chaplain, an Organist, a Chapel Clerk, a Veiger, and 12
Almsmen.

II. Revenues, — ^The endowment of Rugby School consists
of houses and lands in Middlesex and Warwickshire ; together
•with Thrte per cent. Consols, and Three percent. Reduced Stock,
the incomings from which, on an average of a late seven years,
amount to 5,653/. 14^. 11^. Of this sum 255/. ^s. are annually
expended on the twelve almsmen, who now represent the four
almsmen for whom the Founder made provision.

III. Governing Body, — ^To his two Trustees the Founder,
besides certain temporary powers of building, repairing, and
appointing the Schoolmaster, confided the duty of so conveying
and assuring the estates, which he had vested in them and their
successors, " that his intent might have continuance for ever."

In 161 4, an inquisition on the state of the School by Com-
missioners appointed under the Great Seal, resulted in the
election of twelve gentlemen of Warwickshire as Trustees, in
whom all the estates were vested.

By a second inquisition of the same nature in 1653, twelve
new Trustees were chosen, with more definite duties and
powers.

366 TAe Great Schools of EnglantU

The existing Trustees are a self-electing body, consisting of
twelve gentlemen of Warwickshire and the neighbouring
counties, successors of a Board which was appointed and
invested with a corporate character by an Act of Parliament
in 1777. Under this Act, the Trustees are empowered to
carry out all the rules and orders contained in the Schedule
of the Act relative to the government of the School, subject,
however, to a reference to the Court of Chancery in questions
concerning the application of surplus income, and in all doubts
as to the construction of general rules.

In addition to these general administrative functions, the Act
of 1777 preserves to the Trustees all the legislative powers over
the School to which they were entitled by the decree of 1653.
And these powers are almost unlimited. They appoint, and
can dismiss the Head Master and all the Under Masters, and
they have the right to make from time to time such rules and
regulations for the government of the School as they may
think needful. Practically, however, they delegate the whole
management and government of the School to the Head
Master, reserving a power to rescind what he may have done,
and to refuse their sanction to any alteration of the existing
system which he may propose to make. Their power of
electing to the Exhibitions of the School they have for veiy
many years virtually surrendered to the Examiners from Oxford
and Cambridge, who test the proficiency of the candidates.

IV. The Head Master^ his Duties and Emoluments, — The
" Schoolmaster " of Lawrence Sheriff was to be " a discreet
j and learned man, chosen to teach grammar j and, if it conve-
niently may be, to be a Master of Arts." By the Act of 1777,
it was made an indispensable requirement that the Head Master
should be " a Master of Arts of Oxford or Cambridge, a Pro-
testant of the Church of England." It was further enacted that
in the choice of such Master a preference should be given to
such as are duly qualified and have received their education
at the School.

Strange to say, though Rugby has supplied many eminent
Head Masters to other Schools, not a single .Rugbeian has

/

Hugby. 367

been elected Head Master of Rugby since the passing of the
Act mentioned. Under the authority before spoken of, which
he derives from the Trustees, the Head Master usually appoints
and has the power to dismiss, subject to an appeal to the
Trustees, all the Assistants but the seven senior Classical
Masters. He assigns the divisions which each Master must
teach, and although this power is limited by a usage which
gives the Forms in the Lower and Middle School to the
Assistants, according to their seniority, it is quite unrestricted
as to the highest divisions, the teaching of which is generally
considered most important. The boarding-houses are given
by the Trustees to the Assistant Masters at the Head Master's
recommendation ; but those who stand highest on the list in
order of seniority are understood to have a claim to these as
they become vacant The Head Master, with the assistance of
the two Composition Masters, teaches the Sixth Form, and at
times examines all the other Forms. The original stipend
appointed by Lawrence Sheriff for the Master of his School
was 12L per annum, and for nearly a century following the
School suffered too much from losses of property for the
Trustees to increase this amount In 1653, however, when
both estates had been recovered and secured, the Court
of Chancery ordered that the surplus revenues over and
above the existing stipends and the expenses of manage-
ment, &C. should be divided in proportion of 2 and i between
the Master of the School and the almsmen, unless the multi-
tude of Scholars should necessitate the employment of a second
Master, whom the funds of the institution must pay. In
consequence of this -order, probably, the stipend reached nearly
40/. a year in 1669. At the end of more than another century
it was only 63/. 6s. Sd. ; but then the Head Master was
beginning to derive emolument from Non-foundation boys.
In the year 1780, which inaugurated a new era of financial
prosperity to the establishment, the Head Master's salary was
raised to 1 13/. 6s. Sd, at which point it now stands. But con-
currently with this addition, it was provided that he should
receive from the funds of the Foundation a sum of 3/. for each

368 7^e Great Schoob of England.

Foundation boy in the School In 1808 this fee was increased
by the Trustees to 5/. By the same authorities it was farther
advanced in 1828 to six guineas. A fee of 6/. 6^. for School
instruction had then for many years been paid to him by
each Non-foundationer in the School. He had also been
receiving, since 181 2, above fifty boarders at about 44/. per
annum. This charge, too, was raised in 1842 to 52/. lox. ;
and the number of boarders also, more than once increased, had
now reached 73. In this way, and by these steps, have stipend,
boarding-fees, and School instruction fees, reached their present
amounts as constituent parts of the Head Mastei^s salary.^

V. Assistant Masters^ their Duties and Emoluments, — The
Founder evidently never contemplated the requirement of more
than one Master for his School. It had existed for nearly a
century, when the want of an Usher was contingently provided
for by the order of the Court of Chancery in 1653. There is
some extrinsic evidence in the history of the town, that there
were more Classical Masters than one in 1707, and from the
reputation of the School in 1748, it is supposed that their
number had then still further increased. In 1780, three years
after the passing of the Act 17 Geo. III., it is certain that
three Assistant Classical Masters, payable by the Trustees,
were appointed. In 1800, their number had risen to five. In
1 81 9, when the School ranked second among the Public
Schools of England in numbers, it boasted of nine Assistant
Masters to 391 boys. In 1826, there appear to have been
seven to 205 boys ; in 1838, nine to upwards of 350 boys; in
1848, twelve to 490 boys. The number of Assistant Masters
now, in all subjects, except writing, drawing, and music, is
seventeen to 485 boys. The Assistant Classical Masters have
for very many years, by the custom of the School^ been
graduates of Oxford or Cambridge.

In accordance with a practice begun on the accession of
Dr. Arnold to the Head Mastership, the whole of the Assistant
Masters are called together once a month by the Head Master,
to discuss any measure of importance connected with the

* Report^ p. 261.

Ru^y. 369

administration of the School. Besides the privilege of a con-
sultative voice at these assemblies, each Assistant Master is
permitted to exercise a large discretion as to the books em-
ployed in his division, and the amount of work which it shall
be put through in the half-year.

The first provision for the payment of an Usher was made
in 1653, when the revenues of the School were made chargeable
with a stipend for his support. In 1780, the Act of Parliament
already quoted, provided for the payment of any sum not exceed-
ing 8c/. per annum, out of the revenues, to as many ushers as
the Trustees might appoint ; and in pursuance of this statute,
three ushers were appointed, one at 80/. and two at 60/. per
annum. By 1805, the number had been raised to five, and the
salary of each was 80/. a year. In subsequent years this re-
muneration was greatly augmented. In the year 1828, the
Court of Chancery empowered the Trustees to pay them out of
the revenues 6/. 6s, a year for the " School instruction " of each
Foundation boy in the School; and, at the same time, the
Trustees made an order for the payment to them of 6/. 6s,
yearly by each Non-foundationer. Concurrently, too, with this
order, the charge of 6/. 6s, per annuniy which each Non-founda-
tion boy had been accustomed to pay for private classical
tuition, was partially raised, the actual effect of which has been,
that these Masters now receive 10/. \os, yearly from each Non-
foundationer for private tuition in classics.

More recently, by the addition of other tuition fees, and the
privilege of taking boarders, the income of the classical and
other Assistant Masters has been still more improved. They
have now five distinct sources of official income. First, the
stipend of 120/. from the Trustees. Second, the profits of
boarding-houses. Third, School instruction fees paid on behalf
of each boy in the School Fourth, private tuition fees. Fifth,
extra tuition fees.

Amount of Emoluments of the Head Master &* his Assistants,
— The total sum divisible between the Head Master and the
Assistants, exclusive of the Writing Master and Dancing Master,
appears to be 20,353/. 4$". 6d, Of this sum, stipendiary pay-

"""^ B B

3^0 The Great Schools oj En^and.

ments by the Trustees constitute 1,073/. ^^' ^'i School instruc-
tion fees are stated at 7,5 5 4/. 13^. 4^^.; tuition fees, vaiying in
amount, paid to the private tutor in classics or other subjects,
6,248/. 145. 6d,\ and boarding profits of eight boarding-houses,
5,476/. 10s.

The Head Master, then, receives 113/. 6s, Sd, as stipend;
1,322/. I2J. from fees in School instruction, 1,277/. lox. from
profits of board, and 243/. 1 2s, from fees for entrance into School ;
making a total of 2,957/. o^. Sd, in addition to a handsome
residence, good garden, and four acres of pasture ground.

For the eighteen Assistant Masters there remain 17,396/. 3J.

10^^. giving an average of about 066^ for each, an average

\^ which, in point of liberality, may be very favourably compared

with the sum divisible among all the Assistant Masters at

most other public Schools.

This sum, however, is not divided in equal parts among
them, as will be seen from the following table, which affords a
fair conspectus of the official salary of each of these Masters, as
made up from all the sources of emolument open to them : —

8/

Three Mathematical Assistants,

£ s. d.

1,412 2 ii|

647 6 o

586 5 6

^2,645 14 Si

£

J.

2,957 0

Thirteen Classical Assistants, \

£ s.

d.

1,617 6

6

1,615 9

0

1,570 3

0

1,562 12

44

1,428 5

9

870 5

0

76s 19

6

762 18

6

651 5

6

648 0

0

615 12

3

613 19

9

340 8

0

;ti3,o62 5 It \/^

Two Modem Language Assistants.
£ s, d.
1,234 10 "
286 13 4

;fi,52i 4 3

Ru^y. 371

Natural Philosophy Assistant.

The salary of the teacher of Natural Philosophy appears to

be included in that already ascribed to the second Mathe-
matical Assistant

LX. — Total Emoluments of Head Master and Assistants,

£ s. d.

Head Master 2,957 o 8

Classical Assistants 13,063 5 li

Mathematical 2,645 '4 5i

Modem Language If521 4 3

One Additional Boarder 13 o o

Reserve 154 o of

£^*3S3 4 6i

It should, indeed, be here observed that the actual income
which the Head Master and each Assistant Master receive from
the School, they do not devote exclusively to their own use.
The Masters have, with great liberality and public spirit, spon-
taneously imposed upon themselves, by a system of taxation,
consisting of a considerable percentage on all incomes above
400/. a contribution to various objects, which they deem con-
ducive to the welfare of the School. These appear to be, at
the present time, three scholarships of 30/. per annum, and
three of 20/. per annum, held by the boys in the School, several
prizes, the printing of examination papers, and a salary for a
School Marshal.

VI. Rt^hy Fellows, — By the Act of 1777, it was provided
that in the case of the removal of any Usher on account of old
age or infirmity, the Trustees might allow him any annual sum
not exceeding 40/. determinable at their will and pleasure.
Fifty years afterwards, the Trustees were empowered by the
Act of 7 George IV. c 28, to establish endowments in the
nature of Fellowships for life, or any shorter period, and to any
amount not less than 100/. or more than 300/. per annum ^
for the benefit of Ushers who might have served ten years

B B a

-./

373 TTu Great Schools of England,

There are at the present moment five such Fellows enjoying
these endowments. These five Fellows receive, altogether,
700/. per annum from the School revenues. Foreseeing the
probability of a larger absorption of the annual income of the
establishment in support of these Fellowships, the Trustees
have passed a resolution not to grant any more such endow-
ments, except in special cases.^

VII. Classes and Number of Boys, — ^The School comprises
two classes of pupils : Foundationers, or boys entitled to cer-
tain privileges in the way of gratuitous education ; and Non-
foundationers, or those who receive their board and education
at fixed charges.

Of the former class, there are at present 61 ; of the latter,
about 425, or 430, who are distributed into three schools, called
the Upper School, Middle School, and Lower School, in the
following proportions : — 187 in the Upper, 255 in the Middle,
and 48 in the Lower School. No boy is eligible for admission
on the Foundation whose parents have not resided at least two
years in Rugby, or within ten miles of Rugby, if in the county
of Warwickshire, or within five miles in any other county. The
candidate must be under fifteen years of age, be able to read
the English language, and fit to begin learning the elements of
Latin, and he must produce a certificate of good conduct from
his former Master. The privileges to which Foundationers
are entitled have been increased considerably since the founda-
tion of the School. By the Founder's " Intent," they have a
right to instruction in German and Latin. Under the Act of
1777, they are entitled to tuition in Greek, Latin, writing,
arithmetic, and the Catechism. By subsequent orders of the
Trustees, passed with the sanction of the Court of Chancery,
they have been gratuitously supplied with all the classical in-
struction given in the school classes, with the addition of class
instruction in modem languages, mathematics, natural philo-
sophy, and drawing.

They are not, by any regulation or order, entitled to private
or extra tuition of any kind ; in this respect they stand, by

^ Report, p. 271.

Ru^y. 373

express arrangement, on the same footing as to payment with
other boys.^

The Trustees also pay on their behalf out of the funds of
the estates 23X. yearly for each boy on account of fires and
lights in the School and towards the maintenance of the Chapel
Chair. Most of the Foundationers reside with their parents
in the town ; some live in the boarding-houses. Their social
position in the higher forms of the School is said to be quite
un distinguishable from that of those who pay for all the benefits
of the establishment.

Non- Foundationers, — ^The Statutes of Rugby School make
no provision for the admission of Non-Foundationers, but it is
supposed such an admission was contemplated, because the
extent of school-buildings is so disproportionate to the number
of free boys.

As at most other endowed schools of distinction, where the
two classes of scholars exist, the Non-Foundationers greatly
exceed the others. The Trustees have the power to limit them,
but practically their number is limited only by the accommo-
dation for them at the boarding-houses.

There appears to be no minimum age of admission pre-
scribed by the regulations of the School for Non-Founda-
tioners, though Boarding-house Masters commonly reject boys
under twelve years of age. But it is otherwise with the
maximum, as will be seen from the following list of Rules
lately issued from the School.

" Rules respecting Admission^ 6f*c,

1. By an order of the Trustees, a boy to become capable of
being a candidate for an Exhibition, must have been a Resident
Member of Rugby School for three years.

2. No boy can remain at school after his nineteenth year in
the Sixth Form ; nor after his eighteenth year below the Sixth
Form ; nor after his seventeenth year below the Upper School;
nor after his sixteenth year below the Upper Middle; nor after
his fifteenth year below the Lower Middle.

1 Report^ p. 235.

V

/

374 ^^^ Great Schools of Engtand*

3. No boy above sixteen can enter the school unless he be
qualified to take his place in the Fifth Form, nor any boy
above fifteen unless he be qualified to take his place in the
Middle School.

4. Each boy, previous to his admission to the School, will
be required to produce a certificate of good conduct from his
last master.

5. Extra instruction is required for boys so backward in
Modem Languages or Mathematics as to be unable to join in
the work of their part of the School.

6. Any parent who shall be found to have furnished his son
with the means of defraying a debt privately contracted, with-

V' out previously communicating on the subject with the Head
Master, ^ill be required to withdraw his son from the SchooL

By an established rule of the School, all School Accounts
must be discharged within one month after the expiration of the
holidays, at the commencement of which they were delivered ;
and unless this rule be complied with, a boy cannot remain at
school after the Quarter-day.

The commencement of the Half-years is usually early in
February, and towards the end of August The Quarter-days
are April the 20th, and October the 20th. The Grammars at
present in use are Kennedy's Elementary Grammar of the
Latin Language for the use of Schools, and Wordsworth's
" Graeca; Grammaticse Rudimenta in usum Scholarum."

Boys in the Upper School, who are not destined for the
University, may, on application to the Head Master through
their Tutors, be excused some portion of their present classical
work on entering upon a course of extra instruction in Mathe-
matics, Modem Languages, or Natural Science."

THE SCHOOL,

The School is divided into four parts : the Classical, Mathe-
matical, Modem Languages, and Natural Philosophy Schools.

The Classical School is distributed into three Sub-Schools,
called the Upper, Middle, and Lower Schools. Each of these
again is divided into Forms, and they again are separated into

Ru^y* 375

divisions. In the whole School, comprising the three Schools
mentioned, there is now a series of twelve such divisions. These
divisions, however, do not form twelve classes, because, in some
cases, the teaching of two or three divisions is undertaken by
one Master, while in other cases, a single division is broken
up into two classes, each of which has a Master. Two such
classes are called "Parallel Divisions.^ The following table
exhibits the arrangement of the School.

Upper School,

Sixth Form.

The Twenty.

The Fifth Form.

Lower Fifth, Lower Fifth.

MiddU School,

1st Upper Middle.
2d Upper Middle.

1st Upper Middle.
2d Upper Middle.

3d Upper Middle.
Lower Middle. Lower Middle.

Lower School,

Remove.
Lower Remove.
Fourth \

™'^, > One Master.

Second i

First ;

As a general rule boys in two parallel classes of the same
division do the same work, as they hold the same rank in the
School. The parallel system — the object of which is to lessen
the number of forms a boy has to pass in going through the
School — was first tried by Dr. Tait. It was abandoned for
some time, but has been revived by the present Head Master^
Dr. Temple.

All the boys learn Classics, and are taught by fourteen
Masters, one of whom, however, gives a considerable portion
of his time to the Mathematical School ^ The time spent by
each boy in the class-rooms of the Classical School during the
week is on the average, throughout the Upper School, some-

* Report, p. 236. « Ibid,

37.^ I^e Great Schools of England.

what more than fourteen hours; throughout the Middle School
somewhat more than twelve hours; throughout the Lower
School eighteen hours and^halT, inclusive of the preparation
which takes place in School

The instruction comprises the Greek and Latin languages ;
History, including the history of the Jews, Greece, Rome and
England, and Divinity. About one hour in the week is devoted
to the class-teaching in History and Geography ; two hours to
Divinity, except in the Sixth Form, when another hour is
dedicated to this subject; and all the remaining hours to
the construing, repetition, and occasional translations of the
Classical languages. The rest of the Classical work, consisting
of composition, is usually done out of school-hours with the
assistance of the tutor.

The Tutorial System appears to have been introduced at
Rugby about the end of last century, and as at present exer-
cised, is said to combine the old tutor work at Rugby with
the private business of the pupil-room at Eton. In the former
capacity the Tutor still looks over and corrects some of the
composition set by the Form Master, who himself corrects the
remainder. The modem portion of his tutorial work consists
mainly in construing lessons for two hours at least in every
w'eek. This instruction, although distinct from class-work, yet
becomes a part of the half-yearly examinations, and as such
contributes to promotion. No class-work lessons whatever are
construed before the tutor. It must be observed, however,
that private tuition, or that part of the tutor's work which most
nearly resembles the private business of Eton, has little of
a private character at Rugby. It is given to classes nearly as
large and much more promiscuous in attainment than are the
classes of the School, inasmuch as all the pupils of the Middle
School are formed into a single class and all the pupils of the
Upper School are gathered into another class, to go through
these lessons before the tutor. In such lessons it seems almost
impossible that the tutor should address himself to his pupil in
his individual character either morally or intellectually. The
older form of tutorial work, the correction of exercises, has

Ru^y. 377

a more truly private character than the specially private tuition.
The objects really attained by this mode of instruction are two :
first, the establishment of a permanent relation between ever)-
boy in the School and some one of its Masters from the begin-
ning to the end of his career, during which his progress may
be observed, and the development of his character watched,
and his general interests cared for. The second end attained
by the prevalence of this instruction in the School is the
impulse thereby given to the Tutor to maintain an acquaint-
ance with the work of all the forms in the Upper and Middle
School and with the varieties of manner by which the work of
each part is accommodated to the boys who are taught in it.
Dr. Temple has expressed the opinion that for these purposes
the whole tutorial work, as now established, is indispensable.

This kind of instruction adds two or three hours weekly to
the time which each boy spends under classical teaching.^

All the tutorial work of the School is confined to nine of
the Assistant Masters, of whom five are boarding-house keepers.
The parents of those who board with the Head Master and
the non-classical Assistant Masters have the ostensible privi-
lege of selecting the tutor for their sons, but this freedom is
again limited by the law which forbids any tutor to take more
than fifty paying pupils, and by the custom of assigning par-
ticular tutors to particular boarding-houses with which they
are not otherwise connected.^

Although the class instruction and the so-called private
tuition constitute all the classical teaching at Rugby, a boy
is required or encouraged to teach himself something beyond
what he acquires for the hearing of the Master or Tutor. He
is expected to bring up for examination in the Classical School,
at least once in the year, a subject of History and one of
Geography which he has mastered by his own unassisted
reading in the holidays.^

The stimulants by which the boys in the Classical School
are urged to exertion are. Promotions in the School, Dis-
tinctions, Prizes, Scholarships, and Exhibitions.

* Report, p. 24a • Ibid, p. 244. » Jhid, p. 241.

378 The Great Schools of England.

The promotions, four in number, are from division to divi-
sion. Two of these are concurrent with two examinations
which are held throughout the School in June and in December,
and two take place at the intervening quarters. The former
are determined partly by the half-year's marks and partly by
the marks gained at such examination. At these examinations
no Master is allowed to examine his own Form. The promo-
tion at the intervening quarters depends entirely upon the
marks given by the Form Masters.

The prizes, &c will be enumerated presently.

The good results of the Rugby system of classical instruction,
and of the liberal incentives offered to diligence in this impor-
tant branch of knowledge, are proved by the following list of
University honours gained by this School within the last ten
years: — At Oxford 35 first classes in Moderations, and 22
Classical first classes in the final schools ; 3 Ireland Scholar-
ships and 3 Hertford Scholarships; 2 Latin Verse prizes;
I Newdegate; i Sacred Poem prize; i Latin Essay; 2 Arnold
Historical and 2 Denyer Theological Essay prizes. Rugbeians
have succeeded in obtaining, besides University distinctions, 19
open College Fellowships, 41 open College Scholarships, and
7 open College Exhibitions. At Cambridge Rugby obtained
6 first classes in the Classical Tripos, one of whom stood first,
one was bracketed with two others in the first place ; i first
class in Natural Science ; i Craven, i Davis, i Porson, i Bell
Scholarship ; i Camden Latin Verse prize; i Greek Epigram;
I Greek Ode; 2 Chancellor's Medals; i Moral Philosophy
prize ; 13 open Fellowships ; 6 of which were at Trinity ; 3 at
St John's ; 18 open Scholarships; 12 at Trinity; 4 at St John's;
I at Caius ; i at Pembroke.^

Maihematical School, — ^The arrangement of this School is

1 Upon this list the Public School Commissioners remark : —
*' We apprehend this list of distinctions to be such as, whether considered
in reference to the number of boys actually in the School, or the number
which in one year it sends to the Universities, evinces its general teaching of
the Litene Humaniores to be absolutely unsurpassed— its training in exact
Scholarship to stand within the first rank, and its practice of composition
not to disentitle it to a very honourable position amongst Public Schools.''

Rugby. 379

partly dependent upon the arrangement of the Classical
School. The four main sub-divisions of the one having the
same names and containing the same boys as do the corre-
sponding portions of the other. That is to say : —

1. Sixth Form.

2. Upper School.

3. First and Second Middle Schools.

4. Third Upper Middle and Lower Middle Schools.

5. Lower School

So far the places of the boys in the Mathematical depend
upon their places in the Classical School. Each of these
Schools, however, is sub-divided into "sets" which do not
respectively correspond either as to the number or the order
of the boys contained in them with the divisions or classes
of the Classical School.

The Lower School is taught arithmetic by the Writing
Master or his assistant The four lower sets out of five in the
Lower Middle School take two hours' instruction from the
Mathematical Master and two hours from the Writing Master ;
but on reaching the fifth and highest set of the Lower Middle
School, boys pass into the hands of the Mathematical Masters
exclusively. The principles of arithmetic, however, are taught
by these Masters throughout the School directly in the lower
sets, indirectly by means of examination papers in the higher.

Each boy in the School on the average passes three hours
a week in the Mathematical Classes.

Boys desirous of cultivating Mathematics to a higher degree
than their opportunities in class admit, usually take private
instruction of a Tutor, who gives two hours in the week to
his pupils.^

Promotion, — Each boy's promotion in the Classical School
depends upon Mathematical proficiency to the extent of twelve
marks in the hundred. A separate list of the boys, according
to their order in the Mathematical School, is published peri-
odically, and has considerable effect in urging them to excel
in this department; but a boy's promotion in the Mathe-

* Report^ p. 248.

380 The Great Schools of England,

matical is mainly dependent upon his promotion in the
Classical School ; for, however high in the Mathematical sets,
he cannot advance into a higher part of the Mathematical
School, until his promotion into the corresponding part of
the Classical School permits it

Modern Languages, — The Modem Language School at
Rugby is arranged upon the same principle as the Mathe-
matical School, and consists in a series of divisions identical
with those of the Classical School, each of which is again
broken up into a series of sets in which boys are arranged
according to proficiency. These sets, less numerous than the
Mathematical, amount to nineteen, thus throwing the whole
School into somewhat larger classes. The actual arrangement
of the boys in the sets of this School more closely corre-
sponds with their position in the Classical School than does
their arrangement in the sets of the Mathematical School,
although there is the same freedom of movement and pro-
motion in both ; a fact which indicates a greater degree of
correspondence between the aptitude of boys to learn modem
languages and that to learn classics, than between their
aptitude for either of these studies and their aptitude for
mathematics.

Every boy at Rugby learns two Modem Languages without
extra payment, unless his parents choose that he should sub-
stitute for these the study of Natural Philosophy. On the
first introduction of the second Modem Language into the
school course, boys were taught French only up to the top
of the Middle School, and German only throughout the Upper
School Experience, however, convinced the present Head
Master that such a plan tended to obliterate most of the
knowledge of French which they had gained without effectively
conveying much knowledge of German. Boys now commence
the study of French so soon as they are admitted into the
School, and add the study of German so soon as they have
made sufficient progress in French.

French and German are taught in all the sets of the Sixth
Form and Upper School, and in the higher sets of the Middle

Rv^y. 381

and Lower Schools; French only in the lower sets of both.
At the present time there are about 27 boys in the Lower
School who do not learn German as well as French. These
last read a primary French Grammar and Gasc*s First French
Book. The highest sets in the Sixth Form read Goihe's
Travels, and Voltaire's Plays, and write exercises both in
French and German. French works are occasionally read in
the Classical School, when the subjects falling within the range
of Classical studies are best treated in some French author.
Tocqueville's America has been recently read in the Sixth
Form as a part of the historical class-work. ^

The chief allurement to the study of Modem Languages
at Rugby is their influence in obtaining promotion in the
Classical School. But the boys are also promoted within each
division of the School of Modem Languages solely according
to their proficiency. The limits which are set to this promo-
tion are identical with those established in the Mathematical
School, and the arrangement made as to the bestowal of classes
and prizes for Modern Languages, at the Christmas examina-
tion, are also the same. The direct rewards for excellence in
Modern Languages seem, however, ludicrously disproportionate
to the importance of the acquirement They consist merely of
two prizes of 3/. 3 J. each, given annually for the Upper School,
and one of 3/. 3 J. for the Lower School; in all, not 10/. per
annum, among a school of nearly 500 boys.

Work done in class, exclusive of preparation, amounts to
two hours a week.

Boys who are below the teaching given to others of the
same position in the Classical School, are required to take
private tuition. Of such there are about 20 pupils in the half-
year. Those whose parents desire for them a greater amount
of instmction than the classes afford, can obtain it at a charge
of 6/. 6j. per annum, and if necessary for the purpose, are
exempted from tutorial work and classical versification.

Since the appointment of a second Language Master, classes
for holding conversation have been instituted for the benefit of

^ Report^ p. 2Sa

38a Tke Great Schools of En^and,

the more advanced boys. To these, no boys, but such as
have reached the first set in the Upper School group, or taken
private tuition, are admitted, and they only, at the discretion
of the Master. The Sixth Form may claim admission to them
by right No fee is paid, the lesson being regarded a^ the
privilege of those who are proficients.

NATURAL PHILOSOI!HY SCHOOL.

In the year 1859, the Trustees of the School built a Ph)rsical
Science Lecture-room and laboratory, and partially furnished
both, at the cost of more than 1,000/. withdrawn from the
capital belonging to the School. Those on the Foundation
receive this instruction without payment, and no fee is paid
for them by the Trustees, on the ground that their outlay in
building a Lecture-room and Laboratory, and partially fur-
nishing them, entitles them to take credit for the fees of
Foundationers without actual payment

Boys in general are not admitted to Lectures in Natural
Philosophy until they reach the Middle School. The present
teacher has established this practice in the belief that boys,
before the age at which they commonly reach that point in the
School, are not well qualified for it Nor are the boys in any
part of the School compelled to learn it It is, in fact, regarded
as a substitute for Modem Languages, to which parents may
have recoiirse if they think fit This alternative, too, is en-
cumbered with the condition that an extra fee of 6/. 6s. per
annum, not required for the teaching of Modem Languages,
must be paid for instmction in Physical Science. It is formally
permissible, however, to study both Modem Languages and
Physical Science, but the practice is discouraged, probably as
being supposed to distract the mind with too many pursuits.

In analogy with the organization of the Schools of Mathe-
matics and Modem languages, the main divisions of the
School of Natural Philosophy correspond with those of the
Classical School. The sub-schools, however, in this depart-
ment are few and comprehensive, being only two in number,

JRugby. 383

one of which embraces the Sixth Form and whole Upper
School, the other the whole Middle School Again, they are
not subdivided into sets or classes as are the sub-schools in
Mathematics and Modem Languages. Each division or sub-
school is taught together in one class, in which the boys are
arranged in order corresponding with their divisions or classes
in the Classical School.

The instruction given in this School consists of subjects
formerly comprehended under the name of Chemistry, Le.
Chemistry and Electricity. Lectures, following the arrange-
ment, and explaining the details of some approved text-book,
such as " Fownes* Chemistry," are given twice in the week to
each class. They are illustrated by experiments and diagrams,
and brought home to individual boys by questions framed to
test their understanding of the Lecture. Notes taken at the
time of the Lecture are subsequently expanded into reports
drawn up by the boys out of School, and containing sketches
of the apparatus. These are shown up once in a fortnight
at least, and are then corrected by the Lecturer, as a classical
exercise might be by a tutor.

Every boy studying Physical Science in class may become
a private pupil, or Laboratory-pupil. If he is a Foundationer
this costs him nothing ; if a non-Foundationer, he pays an
extra fee of 5/. 5^.

To boys who distinguish themselves in the Natural Philo-
sophy branch of the Christmas Examinations, in any Form,
eitiier a first or second class is awarded ; the value of which,
in contributing to a prize, is equal to the same grade of honour
in any other branch except that of pure Classical Scholarship.

Drawing and Music, — Any boy may learn Drawing if he
wish to do so. If on the Foundation, he pays nothing for the
tuition ; if not on the Foundation, he pays 4/. 45. per annum.
In the case of Music, the learners, whether Foundationers or
not, pay 4/. 45. per annum each.

Total Time of Work.
The time of a boy at Rugby School, thus allotted in the

384 The Great Schoofs of England.

compulsory School-work to attendance before his teachers in
each week, amounts on an average to, —

Classical .... about 17 Including private tuition.
Mathematics > • • • 3 ) Exclusive of private tuition, which
Modem Languages . . 2 ) is variable.

Total .... 2a /S,>^^.^J

In order to estimate fairly the amount of actual occupation
in these branches, there must be added time for preparation of
ordinary lessons, and time for composition, consisting ordi-
narily of three exercises in the week, beside compositions
written expressly for the tutor. The habits and abilities of
different boys will, of course, so seriously affect the amount of
time expended in this manner, that no perfect account can be
given of it in a School in which the great bulk of the work is
prepared privately, when and how a boy may choose. Dr.
Temple is of opinion, however, that on no day in the week
neeTa boy work altogether more than between ejght^and nine
hours ; that his work usually amounts to much lesspwHilFon
half-holidays, of which there are three in every week, a boy has
much time at his disposal A distinguished Rugby scholar
considers eight hours the time given on a busy day by a studious
boy to his studies.^

Summary of Examinations, — The Sixth Form is annually
examined in June by Examiners appointed by the Vice-Chan-
cellors of Oxford and Cambridge. The rest of the School at
that time, and the whole of the School in December, are ex-
amined by the Masters, the Examinations comprehending all
the subjects upon which instruction has been given.

At the June Examination, all the boys in the Upper School
below the Sixth Form are examined. They have the same
papers, and the answers to each paper are looked over by the
same Examiner. The marks gained by each boy are added
together, and are called his Examination Marks. To these are
added the Marks which he has accumulated during the half-
year, which are called his Form Marks.

» Report, p. 254.

Ru^y, 385

Precisely the same plan is followed in examining the Middle
SchooL At Christmas, the Forms are examined separately as
Porms. The Masters are divided into Committees of two, and
each Committee examines two Forms, one high in the School,
the other low. The two Modem Language Masters examine
the whole School in Modem Languages. The four Mathe-
matical Masters examine the whole School in Mathematics.

At Christmas six Honour lists are published ; namely in
Divinity, Classics, History and Geography, Mathematics,
Modern Languages, and Natural Philosophy.

Exhibitions^ Prizes^ &*c, — The bestowal of Exhibitions
formed no part of the original design of the founder. But in
1777, when the institution became wealthy, seven Exhibitions,
of the value of 40/. per annum each, were wisely established
and placed at the disposal of the trustees by Act of Parlia-
ment. To this number the trustees themselves added seven
more within a few years, on their own responsibility. In 1807,
the Board obtained the sanction of the Court of Chancery foi
this Act of their predecessors, and authority for adding seven
more Exhibitions, and for increasing those fourteen Exhibitions
to 50/. per annum each.

Again, in 1826, by authority of an Act of Parliament passed
many years before, seven more Exhibitions were added, and
the value of all increased. From that time to the year 1854,
there were twenty-one Exhibitions, of the value of 60/. each,
tenable for seven years at either University. At present, under
the orders of the Charity Commissioners, the Exhibitions are
tenable for four years, and their value, instead of being uni-
form, varies according to the place of the candidate in the
Examinations, by which they are awarded.

Five Exhibitioners are now regularly chosen every year to
fill five Exhibitions of the several values of 80/. 70/. 60/. 50/.
and 40/, tenable for four years, on the single condition of
residing at some College or Hall in Oxford or Cambridge
during that time. The examination is open to all who have
been members of the School for three years. Besides the
work of the half-year, candidates are required to bring up for

c c

/

386 The Great Schools of Etigiand.

examination some Classical author prepared entirely by them-
selves, and to translate into English passages of Greek and
Latin not before seen, in addition to composition in the
Classical languages. When the holder of an Exhibition ceases
to fulfil the required conditions, the remainder of his Exhibition
is offered to competition at the annual examination. *

Two Scholarships, instituted by the Masters, one of 30/.
the other of 20/. value, are awarded annually for pure scholar-
ship, and are open to all boys who have not reached the Sixth
Form, or who reached it only six months before the examina-
tion. Prizes for Classics, chiefly in the Sixth Form, to the
total value of 53/. are given annually in books.

There is a Divinity Prize, value 3/. 3^. a year, founded by
Dr. Robertson, for boys not placed in the Sixth Form before
Midsummer ; and a Prize of 4/ value, for knowledge of the
Bible, is open to all the School below the Sixth Form. Her
Majesty the Queen has founded an annual Prize of a gold
medal for an English Historical Subject.

A Prize is given to any boy in every Form throughout the
School who obtains a first class in the final examination at
Christmas, either in Divinity, Classical Scholarship, History,
or Geography; a second class also contributes to entitle its
winner to a Prize, and therefore some further distinction in
one of the subsidiary Schools is requisite to give full effect to
this lower degree of distinction.

A Prize is given in February, by the Rev. C. B. Hutchinson,
of 3/. 35. value, for proficiency in History, which is open to the .
Twenty and the Fifth.

In the Mathematical School there are several Prizes of small
amount, bestowed by the Mathematical Masters. Those for
Modem Languages have already been mentioned.

There are also small Prizes given by the French and Ger-
man Masters, for excellence in those Languages; by the
Master of Natural Philosophy School to the best Chemical
Analyst ; and a Prize by the Drawing Master, for the best
Sketches from Nature, and from copies.

Monitorial System, — The discipline of Rugby School is

Ru^y. 387

laiigely dependent on the Sixth Form boys, or, as they have
always been called, " Praepostors." In School, it is their duty,
in rotation, to keep order while names are called over ; to call
over names in their own boarding-houses at dinner, at locking-
up, and at evening prayers. They also read prayers in the
evening; if the Master of the boarding-house is absent They
have powers to enforce obedience to all the rules of the School,
to put down ill-practices, as the breaking of bounds, frequent-
ing of public-houses, turbulence, and drinking or smoking,
by setting impositions to boys in all Forms below the Sixth,
and by inflicting personal chastisement on any boy below the
Fifth, of not more than five or six strokes of a stick or a cane
across the shoulders.

As the use of the fist is forbidden, they commonly carry
canes when they are on duty in " calling over," and, on such
occasions, use them even in the Master's presence. In cases
where the rarer punishment of "licking" is resorted to, it is
inflicted in private, or before the whole of the Sixth ; and, for
the worst sort of ofiences, before the whole boarding-house ;
nor will any degree of age or size, on the part of the delin-
quent, warrant him in personally resisting the punishment
The power of a Praepostor is somewhat controlled, however,
by the right of appeal to the Sixth Form and to the Head
Master, which every boy possesses, and his claim to which
immediately arrests the Praepostor's hand. The Sixth Form,
although strictly charged with the superintendence of the Forms
below itself, is a check also upon the members of its own body;
and the same offence for which a Sixth Form boy would punish
a lower boy, he would report, if committed by a colleague, to
the whole Sixth Form, on which the Form, as a body, would
request the Head Master to degrade or remove the ofiender.

Fa^ng, — The right to fag is limited to the Sixth Form.
The three divisions next below the Sixth are exempt from
being fagged, but they are not admitted to the privilege of
fagging. The. fixed services consist in sweeping and dusting
the studies of the Sixth, attending their call at supper for half
an hour, making toast, running on messages, and attending at

oca

388 The Great Schools of England,

games. At cricket a Sixth Form boy may call upon any fag to
field for him, if he chooses, but this particular service is dying
out At foot-ball all fegs must attend. In the *• runs," "hounds,"
and " brook-leaping," they are also compelled to take part, but
a medical certificate of unfitness, countersigned by the Head
- Master, gives exemption.
.Punishments, — The punishments in use are :—
.1, Solitary confinement for an hour, or two hours. Used
. only in the Lower School

2. Caning on the hand. Used both in the Lower and
Middle School ; but in the Upper Forms of the latter very
rarely.

3. Latin or Greek to be written out or translated, or learnt
ty heart.

4. Flogging, which is administered for serious offences;
such as lying, foul language, or persistence in any misconduct

-From this punishment the Sixth Form is exempt by the rules,
the Fifth by the courtesy of the School

5. Request to the. parents to remove the offender.

6. Expulsion ; which is effected by the Head Master send-
ing for the boy, and saying to him, "You are no longer a
member of the School."

The three first of these punishments are inflicted by the
Assistant Masters ; the three last by the Head Master only.

Sports and Pastimes. — Contiguous to the School, is the
** School-close," of more than thirteen acres of grass on a light
^oll. It is open on three sides, and contains a gymnastic
ground, good racquet courts, and on one side of it a cold bath
of spring water, which for many years has been kept for the
use of the boys.

The management of this close, and the regulation of the
sports, are commonly committed to an Assembly called the
"Big-Side Levee," consisting of all the boys in the Upper
School, led by the Sixth. The games most popular at Rugby
are football, cricket, and racquets. Football is played there
under different rules from those of other public schools, and
with extraordinary vehemence and spirit

Ru^y. 389

" There are few more lively sights than the School-close on
the day of one of the great matches — ^the * Sixth* against the
rest of the School, or the * Old ' against the * Present Rugbe-
ians.' Each side plays in jerseys and flannels, with velvet caps
of distinctive colours, which old Rugbeians are disposed to
regard as modem vanities, but which certainly add very much
to the picturesqueness of the game, and, no doubt, increase its
interest in the eyes of the ladies, who, since the late Queen
Dowager set the example, crowd the ground on bright after-
noons whenever a match of any special interest is to be
played ; sometimes, in their enthusiasm, venturing outside
those mysterious posts which mark out the * line of touch,' and
thus occasionally getting mixed up with the combatants, to
their own detriment and the general confusion." ^

Being in the centre of a fine hunting county, Rugby has long
been famous for its ancient game of *' Hare and Hounds." In
old times this sport was conducted in a way which would not
be tolerated in the present day. The fags were then hounds
and Praepostors huntsmen, and great cruelty was often the
result. As now played, it is a good stiff steeplechase, at which
the main object for a plucky "hound" is to accomplish the
" Great Crick run " (13 miles) in a little less than 84 minutes.
The day of hunting is Thursday, when fhe "Tiares,^ for tKefe
are generally two, start off with a handful of bits of paper,
which they drop from time to time as *^ scent" The pursuers
hold well together for the first mile or two ; then the weaker
runners begin to fall off, and the number who are in at the
death may often be compared to the reduced list of foxhunters,
who, after a severe run, survive to witness the amputation of
the brush.

The river Avon, which flows near the school, offers every
facility for bathing. Two places are kept for the School To
one, where the water is shallow, the smaller boys and those
who cannot swim resort, under the care of bathing men.
When boys have learned to swim they are promoted to "deep
water," at a point where the " Swift " joins the Avon, and have

> A VisU to Rugby.

390 The Great Schools of Engiana.

there full opportunity of perfecting themselves in this healthy
and useful art.

The Rifle Corps at Rugby numbers nearly loo members
No one is compelled to join, and the regulations are drawn up
by the boys themselves. In 1861, Rugby carried off the Ash-
burton Shield at Wimbledon, in the face of a strong competi-
tion among Public Schools, and they have maintained the
second place in the same contest since.^

Libraries, — ^There is a moderately good library, to which
the boys have access twice a week, when the Writing Master
is there to help them to find any books they require. There
are also libraries in each boarding-house, maintained by a
subscription of ioj. a year from each boy in the house.

School HourSy and Holidays, — All the boys, at all seasons,
are expected to go to bed at 10 o'clock, except the Sixth
Form. For nine weeks in mid-winter they are expected to
rise at 7 to take their breakfast at 7.30, and to present them-
selves in School at 8. During the rest of the year they rise
at 6.30, are in School at 7, and work for an hour and a half
before breakfast. There are three whole School days during
the week. Of the four and a half or five School hours on
a whole School day, three occur before dinner (1.30), and one
hour and a half after dinner. The break of an hour and a half
is always allowed between dinner and the next School lesson.
There are three half holidays usually in the week ; every third
week there is a fourth.

There are no whole holidays, but once in the half-year boys
are allowed, on the request of their parents, to leave School
for two days and a half

There are only two vacations a year : seven weeks at Christ-
mas, and eight weeks after Midsummer. An arrangement
almost peculiar to Rugby.

Religious Observances, — On Good-Friday, Ascension-Day,
All Saints' Day, Ash- Wednesday, and on " Lawrence Sheriff's
Day," religious services are held in the chapel of the School

Prior to 1 8 14 the boys resorted to the parish church for

' Rfpprt, pp. 254-5.

Ru^y, 391

religious worship. In that year the Trustees obtained powers
to build a chapel, which was accordingly erected close to
the School, and has since been considerably enlarged and
improved. It contains monuments to many Head-Masters,
Assistant-Masters, who died in the service of the School, and
to boys who died at Rugby, or afterwards on the field of battle.
Soon after the building of this chapel a chaplain was appointed
with a sufficient stipend ; but Dr. Arnold, desirous of improving
such an opportunity of moulding the character of Rugby boys,
on the first vacancy, applied for, and was appointed to the
office, of which he declined to receive the remuneration.
In continuance of the same practice the Head Master still
preaches there every Sunday.

All the boys attend the services in the chapel on Sunday.
These services consist of the Litany preceded by a hymn at
8.30; the Morning Service and the Communion Service 1 1.30 ;
the Evening Service and sermon at 4.

The Holy Communion is administered on the first Sunday
in the half-year, and on the last, and at least twice, sometimes
four times between. Attendance at the Holy Communion is
perfectly voluntary.^

Boarding-houses, — Inclusive of the School-house which forms
part of the block of School-buildings, and is kept by the Head
Master, there are eight boarding-houses at Rugby. The Head
Master's house was designed, and long used for the reception
of 50, but, by repeated additions within the last forty years,
has been made to contain 73 boys.

The remaining seven boarding-houses, all now kept by
Assistant Masters, contain, on an average, 46 boys each ; the
most capacious holding 50, and the smallest 42 boarders.
Separate from his bedroom each boy has a study, which,
while in the Lower or Middle School, he is liable to share
with another boy, but of which he has undivided possession
on entering the Upper School. Brothers are invariably put
together; others are associated, at the discretion of the
boarding-house Master, who takes into consideration their

» Report, p. «59.

393 T^ Great Schools of EngUind,

position in the School, their age, character, and wishes in
their choice of a companion. The usual size of a study is
seven feet square. In these, studies, which in the School-
house are warmed by hot air, and in the boarding-houses by
fire, boys of the Middle and Upper Schools prepare their
lessons. Those below the Middle School learn them commonly
in school) and in the presence of a Master. Each boy provides
the furniture of his study, generally by purchasing what he
finds in the room from the last occupant at a valuation, on
which the boarding-house Master keeps a dieck.^

Diet, — ^Breakfast, consisting simply of tea or coffee and bread
and butter^ is taken at 7.30 in winter ; and at 8.30 in summer.

Dinner, which consists of meat, and v^etables, sometimes
preceded by soup, is served at 1.30.

Tea follows dinner after a few hours ; and at 8.30 a supper
of bread and cheese winds up tiie day.*

Expmses of a Boy at Rugby ^ including Board and Lodging.

I. Necessary.

Annually. Entrance.

Giargeftin £ s, d. £ s. d.

Assistant Master's Boarding-hoiise ... 58 14 3 . . 220

School Instruction 16 56 .. 220

Classical Private Tuition 19 10 o . . I i o

Miscellaneous Charges 5 9 o

£^ 18 9 jgS 5 o

IL Optional.— /Vwatf Tuition.

Ansually. Entrance.

£ s, d, £ s, d.

In Mathematics 10 10 o . . i i o

Modem Langni^es 660

Laboratory Instruction 660

Natural Philosophy . 550

Drawing ............ 440

Music 440

Drill 440

Dancing (variable).

The above charges are for a resident Non-Foundationer.

1 R^ort^ PL 256. • Ibid.

Rugf>y. 393

A resident Foundationer pays the same, with the exception
of the sum of i6/. sj. for School instruction, and about half
the miscellaneous charges; which are paid on his behalf by
the Trustees.

A Foundation boy, not boarding at the School, pays the
same as a resident Foundation boy, minus the expenses of
the boarding-house.

394

The Great Sc%ools of England,

CHAPTER III.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

Distinguished Ru^eians,

The Head Masters of Rugby School, so far as they
can be traced, are : —

1602.

Nicholas Greenhill.

1742. Thomas Crossfidd.

Augustine Rolfe.

1744. William KnaiL

W. Green.

175 1. John Richmond.

1642.

Raphael Pearce.

1 755. Stanley Barrougfa.

Peter Whitehead.

1778. Thomas James.

John Allen.

1794. Henry Ingles.

Knighty Harrison.

1807. John Wool.

1674.

Robert Ashbridge.

1828. Thomas Arnold. ^

168 1.

Leonard Jeacocks.

1842. A. C. Tait. *

1687.

Henry Holyoak.

1850. Ed. M. Gonlbum.

1731-

John Plomer.

1858. Frederick Temple.

Among the distinguished men who may be said to owe their
intellectual birth to Lawrence Sheriffs now famous Foundation,
we have of Bishops, Legge, of Oxford ; Bagot, of Oxford ;
Otter, of Chichester ; and James, of Calcutta. Of Clergymen
generally, the list headed by Dr. Churton and Dr. A. P. Stanley,
is a lengthened one ; as is that of her Physicians, headed by
the late Sir Henry Halford and the present Sir Charles Lpcgck.
Prominent among her lawyers are the late Mr. Justice Colt-
man, Mr. Justice Vaughan, and the present Attorney-General,
Sir RouNDELL Palmer (who was a fifth-form Rugbeian before
he left for Winchester).

Her men of letters include Cave, the early friend of Dr.
Johnson, and the originator of The Gentleman's Magazine;

Ru^y- 395

Carte, the historian ; Parkhurst, famous for his Hebrew
Lexicon ; Bray, who, jointly with Manning, wrote the History
of Surrey ; Dr. W. R Sleath, Head Master of Repton, and
Dr. John Sleath, Head Master of St PauFs School ; Dr.
Samuel Butler, the favourite Master of Shrewsbury School ;
Walter,SaYage Landor ; Hughes, who,.in,his Tom Brown's
Scfibol Days J has given us the best portraiture of Arnold and
his administration which we possess ; and W. C. Macreadv,
the celebrated actor. Admiral F. W. Fane and Captains Lord
Probv and the Hon. Harry Gray, R. N. worthily maintained
the naval honours of the School; but, after all, the truest
sphere of glory for her sons has been the " tented field." The
military roll of Rugby is indeed remarkable ; it contains the
names of the late nonogenarian, Field-Marshal Viscount
Combermere ; Major-General John Mansel, who fell as he
led his heavy brigade of cavalry to storm the French batteries
in 1794; his son. Major J. C. Mansel, who was wounded
and taken prisoner during the same tremendous charge. Sir
Ralph Abercrombie, who died the victor of Alexandria, in
1801 ; the Hon. General Bruce; Lieut-General Sir. G. T.
Walker, who distinguished himself at Maida, in i8o8, and
with many a Rugbeian comrade among the "fighting light
brigade " through the Peninsula ; Lieut-General John Max-
well Kerr ; Major-General Skerratt, who, when desperately
wounded, led the storming-party of Bergen-op-zoom, in 181 4,
and was the first to mount the walls on which he fell, his old
school-fellow General, the Earl of Carysford, gallantly sup-
porting him throughout the bloody day; Major-General Sir
Arthur Clifton ; Colonel Miller, who led the Enniskillens
at Waterloo ; Captains HoLBECHEand Biddulph, who charged
side by side with him and twenty other Rugbeians on the same
terrible field. Nearer to our own times we have the twenty-
five Rugbeian heroes, commemorated by their school-fellows
in the College Chapel windows already mentioned, including
Sir J. W. Adams, who was killed at Inkerman, and " Hodson
of Hodson's Horse," who, with his undaunted schoolmates,
bore the brunt of, and fell in the late Indian mutiny.

39^ The Great Schools of England.

GOVERNING BODY OF RUGBY SCHOOL IN 1865.

^ The Duke of Marlborough.
X^ Earl of Warwick.
^ Earl of Denbigh.
y Earl Howe.

Lord Leigh.

Hon. C. B. Percy.

Clerk — Mr. Harris, Solicitor, Rugby.

\

C. B. Adderley, Esq. M.P. *
Sir H. Halford, Bt M.P.
C. N. Newdegate, Esq. M.P.
H. C. Wise, Esq.
W. S. Dugdale, Esq.
Rev. C. W. Holbeche.

MASTERS OF RUGBY SCHOOL IN 1865.
/riftaZ-^Art^— Rev. F. Temple, D.D. x^

Classical Assistant Masters,
Rev. H. T. Buckoll, M.A. Master of Lower School.

Rev. C, T. Arnold, M.A.
Rev. L. F. Burrows, M.A,
Rev. T. W. Jex-Blake, M.A. ]/*
Rev. C. B. Hutchinson, M.A.
Rev. C. E. Moberly, M.A.
E. A. Scott, M.A.

A. W, Potts, M.A.
W. K. Wilson, B.A.
J. S. Philpotts, B.A.
F. E. Kitchener, B.A.
Rev. J. Robertson, M.A.
Rev. J. Bond, M.A.

MathemaHcs — Rev. C. Elsee^ M.A.

Modem Languages,
Rev. P. B. Smith, M.A. | M. Vecqueray.

Natural Science— y M. Wilson, M.A.

Writing Master and Secretary — Mr, J. S. Sale.

Assistant Writing Master— Mx, Pooley.

Drawing Master — Mr. Barnard.

School Marshal— yit, G. Patey.

Ri^y. 397

CHAPTER IV.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE PUBLIC
SCHOOLS' COMMLSSIONERS IN REFERENCE TO RUGBY
SCHOOL.

The following are the most important of the numerous recom-
mendations of the Commision for the future government of the
School

** With the exceptions which we are about to mention, all the
General Recommendations (Part I. pp. 52-55) appear appli-
cable to Rugby. It is further recommended that the Trustees
of Rugby School be twelve in number.

That of this number four be elected on account of generally
acknowledged eminence in literature and science, in such
manner that there shall be always one such Trustee at least,
when the full number of four is complete, eminent for scientific
and one at least for literary attainments or distinctions.

That either drawing or music be taught to every boy for the
first three years after his admission into the School

That the instruction in Physical Science at Rugby consist in
two main branches; first. Natural Philosophy, consisting in
Chemistry and Physics ; the second consisting in Comparative
Physiology and Natural History, both animal and vegetable.

That no boy in the School be permitted at any time during
his stay at School to omit or discontinue the study of more
than one of the three subsidiary studies. Mathematics, Modem
Languages, and Physical Science.

That the teachers of Physical Science be not required nor
permitted to teach any other branch of knowledge in the
School than that or to those for which their salaries as teachers
of Physical Science are paid to them.

390 ^^ Great Schools of En^nd.

That the annual sums hitherto paid by boys learning Natural
Philosophy, 5/. 5^. Drawing, 4/. Music, 4/. be discontinued,
and that no extra sum be paid on account of the regular
instruction given in any of these branches of instruction.

That twenty-one guineas and a half be paid annually by the
parents and guardians of each boy not being a Foundationer
for School instruction.

That twenty-one guineas and a half be paid annually by the
Trustees on behalf of each Foundationer for School instruction.

That these annual sums paid by parents and Trustees con-
stitute a " School instruction" fund.

That the annual stipends hitherto paid by the Trustees of
the School to the Head Master, seven Assistant Classical
Masters, and Mathematical Master, be paid annually to the
present Head Master, the present seven Senior Assistant
Classical Masters, and the present Senior Mathematical Master,
out of the School Instruction fund.

That the sum of fifteen guineas and a half, hitheito paid for
School instruction, and distributed amongst the Masters of the
School in certain settled proportions, and to a reserve fiind as
now constituted, be henceforth paid out of the School Instruc-
tion fund, and be distributed amongst the Masters in the same
manner and proportions, and then form a reserve fund for the
benefit of Masters as heretofore.

That from the residue of the School Instruction fund there
be paid annually to two teachers, to be appointed to teach
Physical Science, the sum of 1,200/., of which 700/. be given
as a salary to a teacher of Chemistry and Physics, and 500^!
be given as a salary to a teacher of Physiology and Natural
History.

That from the residue of the School Instruction fund an
annual sum of 600/. be paid to two teachers of Music and
Drawing.

That no Head Master hereafter to be appointed, and no
Master hereafter attaining a position among the seven Senior
Classical Masters, receive any annual stipend, either from the
Trustees or from the School Instruction fund

Rugby. 399

That no Senior Mathematical Master hereafter to be ap-
pointed, or succeeding hereafter to that position, receive the
annual stipend of 120/. now paid by the Trustees, and made
payable out of the School Instruction fund by these regulations.

That the annual sum of ten guineas now legally payable
by every boy above the Lower School who takes private Clas-
sical tuition be henceforth payable by every boy in the School
for Classical tuition till he reaches the second division of the
Fifth Form.

That on and after reaching the second division of the Fifth
Form every boy henceforth pay the sum of twelve guineas, or
such other sum as the Trustees of the School may fix, for
private tuition, to be distributed as the Trustees, after com-
munication with the Head Master, shall settle.

That all the sums now paid to the Head Master on account
of entrances, and of his share of the School Instruction fund
be paid to him, and be charged with the same payments to
other Masters as heretofore ; but that all pa3mients and fees
payable to him on account of any number of boys beyond 470
be not received by him, but be paid into the School Instruction
fund : and that the amount of all sums now paid by him to
Assistant Masters, so soon as he shall cease to make such
payments, be also remitted by him into the School Instruction
fund.

That there never be less than three Classical Masters to
each hundred boys in the School

That the number of boys in the School at one time do not
exceed 500.

That the salaries or pecuniary remuneration of the various
Masters teaching in the School, be always and entirely fur-
nished out of the payments made by or on behalf of the several
boys educated at the School, and not directly out of the reve-
nues arising from the property of the School

That no Classical Assistant Master receive more than 1,400/.
per annum, and that none receive less than 500/. per anxium.

That the interval between the lowest income of any such
Master and the highest income be graduated by successive

400 7H€ Great Schools of England,

scales of income, such as will be suitable to various d^rees of
rank and standing amongst the Assistant Masters.

That there be not less than four distinct scales of income
for the whole group of thirteen Assistant Masters.

That no one scale of income exceed that immediately below
it by more than 300/. per annum, nor apply to more than four
Masters.

That the income of no Assistant Master in the Mathe-
matical or Modem Language School exceed that of the
Assistant Master next below him in order of seniority by more
than 400/. where the number of Assistants is above two, or
by more than 500/. where it is two only, and that Assistant
Masters in these several Schools, keeping boarding houses,
contribute the annual sum of 6/. on each boarder to a fund
to be made use of in carrying out this regulation.

That the Trustees have power to amend from time to time,
as the interests of the School may require, any scheme, by
whomsoever framed or settled, which may have been framed
for the payment of the Masters.

That no separate annual charge be made on any bo)rs for
any Writing or Arithmetic Master hereafter to be appointed,
but that a proper annual charge on such account be added to
and become a part of the general charge for School instruction.

That the Trustees do not henceforth pay to the Head
Master or to any Assistant Classical or Mathematical Master
the annual stipends hitherto paid to them respectively or any
annual stipend.

That the Trustees of the School cease to award or to have
power to award to persons having served as Masters any
annual pajrments as stipends in the nature of Fellowships.

That the Trustees do not pay any stipend to any Writing or
Arithmetic Master hereafter to be appointed.

That the Trustees do not henceforth pay any stipend to the
Drawing Master, for whom a salary is now otherwise provided.

That the number of boys at School at any one time entitled
to the benefits of the foundation by reason of residence, at
Rugby, or within a certain distance from Rugby, or within the

county of Warwick, be gradually limited to 25 ; and that the
Trustees do make provision for effecting this gradual dimi-
nution in such manner as not to defeat the reasonable claims
of individuals who may have settled in the neighbourhood for
the purpose of availing themselves of such privilege ; provided,
that this limitation be canied into full effect before the month
of August 1873.

That this local privilege be entirely abolished in a manner
to be arranged by the Trustees, who shall take steps to carry
into fiill effect the total abolition of this local privilege before
the month of August 1883.

That there be created at Rugby School, 12 Scholarships and
24 Exhibitions, and that they be entitled respectively " Sheriff
Scholarships " and ^' Sheriff Exhibitions."

That the Sheriff Scholarships be of the annual value of 60/.
each, and the Sheriff Exhibitions of the annual value of 25/.
each, and that these sums be paid out of the annual revenues
of the School

That of the Sheriff Scholarships three be filled up annually
by competitive examination in Classics, open to all British
subjects under the age of fifteen years, and tenable for four
years at Rugby School

That of the Sheriff Exhibitions, six be filled up annually by
competitive examination open to all British subjects under
fifteen years of age, and tenable for four years at Rugby School.
That of the six Sheriff Exhibitions annually awarded, two be
given to the greatest proficiency in French or German or both;
two for the greatest proficiency in those branches of Physical
SdeDce which are taught at Rugby School ; and two for the
greatest proficiency in Mathematics.

That the number, nature, and value of the Sheriff Scholar-
ships and Exhibitions annually vacant and to be competed
for, together with the general terms of the competition, be
advertised in the public newspapers annually three months
before the examination takes place.

That the Trustees on being satisfied after a report made
jointly by the Head Master and the Masters teaching Mathe-

D D

40^ The Great Schools of England,

matics, Modem Languages, or Physical Science, as the circum-
stances may require, that any boy holding a Sherifif Exhibition
has ceased to endeavour seriously to maintain his proficiency
in that branch of knowledge for the encouragement of which
the exhibition of which he enjoys the benefit was founded, with
the power at any period not being less than one year from the
time when such exhibition was awarded, do declare such exhi-
bition " open to challenge/*

That the examiners appointed for the examination of candi-
dates for exhibitions at the University shall take such part in
examining for and have such voice in awarding the Sheriff
Scholarships and Exhibitions as the Trustees of the Schoo]
shall think fit to order.

That the election of Sheriff Scholarships and Sheriff Exhi-
bitions commence fOTthwith and be continued in succeeding
years by the election of such number of Scholars and Exhi-
bitioners as has been herein appointed for annual election;
and that the annual sums of money herein saved to the reve-
nues of the School, by transferring the payment of the Head
Master and seven Assistant Classical Masters fi-om the reve-
nues of the School to the School Instruction fimd, be applied
to this object before all others.

In lieu of five Exhibitions of the value respectively of 80/.
70/., 60/., 50/., and 40^, all and each yearly offered for mixed
attainments in many branches of knowledge, the same yearly
sum shall be given as follows : — ^There shall be three yearly
Exhibitions of the respective values of 60/., 50/, and 40/.,
awarded annually to the highest proficiency in Classics alone ;
two Exhibitions of 30/. and 20/. respectively to the highest
proficiency in Mathematics alone ; two Exhibitions of 30/. and
20/. respectively for proficiency in Modem Languages; and
two Exhibitions of 30/. and 20/. respectively for proficiency in
Physical Science.

That it be in the power of any boy to compete for any two
Exhibitions assigned to two different branches of knowledge,
and to hold any two such of any value together.

That the Examiners for the Exhibitions at the Universities

4P

Ri^y. 403

be henceforth five in niunber. That there be two Classical
Examiners, one Mathematical Examiner, one Examiner in
Physical Science, and one Examiner in Modem Languages.
That a sum not exceeding 25/. be given to each Classical
Examiner, and that a sum not exceeding 20/. be given each
Examiner in the three other branches.

That the original English verse prize be restored to its
ancient value by the addition of three guineas from the School
revenues to the three guineas now given by the Head Master,

That prizes for the translation of choice 'Greek and Latin
passages into English, both prose and verse, and choice
English passages into the Classical languages be given, and
if necessary, out of the School revenues.

That the Trustees consider the propriety of providing prizes
for the encouragement of study in the Mathematical, Modern
Language, and Physical Science Schools."

D D 2

404 Tie Great Schools of Etigland.

SHREWSBURY, [y

** IMTUS SI RECIl^ NS LABORA.**

CHAPTER I.— HISTORICAL.

More than three hundred years have elapsed since the bailiffs
and burgesses of Shrewsbury, beaded by Hugh Edwards and
Richard Whyttaker, and supported by other inhabitants of the
town and neighbourhood, took measures to establish a Free
School in the county town.

The suppression of the Abbey and other churches had
involved the loss of the seminaries attached to them, and the
" proud Salopians '* seized the earliest opportunity to supply the
void. At Michaelmas in 1549, the Corporation paid Rq;iiiald
Corbett, the Recorder, for a supplication exhibited to the Lord
Chancellor to obtain a Free School, los.

Wise in their generation, and knowing that "a man's gift
maketh way for him," they shortly after gave " to a servant of
the Lord Chancellor for his favour in the same, 20//." and in
a few months " paid for the purchasing of a Free School to be
had within the town, 20/." This last sum (about equivalent to
130/. in the present day) is supposed to have been part of the
consideration money given for the estates which were settled
subsequently upon the School With more probability it may
be conjectured to have been paid for premises suitable as a
School-house, or for land on which to erect one. Two years
later they presented a petition to King Edward VI. soliciting a
grant of some portion of the estates belonging to the dissolved
collegiate churches for the endowment of the School. In
compliance with their prayer, the King gave the appropriated

Shrewsbury. 405

tithes of several prebendal livings, formerly belonging to the
churches of St. Maiy and St Chad, for the purpose of endow-
ing a School with one Master, and one Under Schoolmaster,
to be called The Free Grammar School^ of King Edward the

^ The original expression is Ubtra Schola^ which is commonly under-
stood to mean a school wherein education is gratnitously given. Dr.
Kennedy, the present distinguished Head Master of Shrewsbuiy School,
disputes the accuracy of this interpretation. He affirms that IJbera was
never used in the sense of *' gratuitous," either in classical Latin, in post-
classical Latin, or in mediaeval Latin. As respects classical Latin, he
refers to the dictionaries of Facdolati and Scheller, where it is seen, on com-
paring the examples of ^^liber^ and its adverb ^^iideri" with the examples
of ^^gratiiiius^^ and the adverb ** gratis,^ that the two former words are
never used in the sense of the two latter. " JUber^^ in &ct, he contends,
means " unrestrained^* " unconirolUd^^ or exempt, but cannot be found to
describe a thing not to be paid for. So post-classically he gives many
instances oi Liber in the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible, in all of
which the meaning is *' unenslavedy^ and in none "gratuitous,** Finally,
as regards mediaeval Latin, he points to the valuable glossaries of Dufresne
Dncange, and Charpentier, as well as to Lindenbrog^s Codex Legum^ and
declares that, although the word is of the most frequent occurrence,
there is not the faintest trace of its use in the sense of " graiuitous^^ From
all which he concludes that Zii^ra in the charter of King Edward's Schools
was designed to distinguish them from other existing schools, most of
which were dependent on ecdestastical power, and were attached and
subservient to Chapters and Colleges. In confirmation of this view of the
expression it should be remembered that liber Homo in the Great Charter
meant "a freeman" as distinguished from a serf, and the adjective Uber
{Libera, Liberum) was the term universally employed to confer by Royal
Charter a liberty or franchise on various objects and institutions. For
instance —

Libera Capeiia, a Free Chapel (free from ordinary jurisdiction).

Libera EccUsia, a Free Church (free from incumbency, — personatus).

Libera Villa, a Free Town (free from certain burdens),

Liberum Feudum, Frank-Fee (ditto^ ditto).

Libera Firma, Frank-Farm (ditto, ditto).

Liber Taurus, a Free Bull (not liable to be impounded).
So Libera IVarenna, Free Warren.

Libera Piscaria, Free Fisheiy.

Libera Chassa^ Free Chase.

Libera Eleemosyna, Frank Almoine.
In all which, undoubtedly, the word implies "free from lordship or con-
trol," "not liable to services,'* by royally-conferred franchise.

4o6 The Great Schools of En^and.

Sixth. Before the newly founded institution was opened, the
young king died, and during Queen Mary's reign the Charter
granted by her brother remained in abeyance. In 1562, four
years after the accession of Elizabeth, Thomas Ashton, a
gentleman of pre-eminent learning and high character, having
been appointed Head Master, and Thomas Lawrence Second
Master, the School was opened with a large number of pupils,
and soon became one of the most flourishing Schools in
England. During the few years of Mr. Ashton's administra-
tion the entrance books show the names of Sdiolars from the
head families of Shropshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Worcester-
shire, and North Wales.^

The manuscripts of Dr. Taylor, preserved in the Libraiy,
afford some entertaining accounts of the manner in which, at
an early stage of the School's history, the Masters and
Scholars were accustomed to combine amusement and study.
The year 1568, for example, is memorable in the School y^/x
because ^' at Whysimtyde was a notable stage play at Shros-
beiy, which lasted all the hollydayes, unto the which came
greate numbers of people, of noblemen, and others, the which
was praysed greately, and the chyffe auctor [author] thereof was
one Master Aston, being the head Scoole Master of the Free
Scoole there, a godly and lerenyd man, who took marvelous
great paynes therein." ^ In 1573, also, were grand doings at

^ The inhabitants, '* among other things, deserve especial commendation
for this, in that they have set up a schoole, wherein were more scholleis in
number when X first saw it than in any one schoole in England again ; unto
which Thomas Ashton, the first head-school master, a right good man,
procured by his meanes a very honest salarie and stipend for the teachers.**
— Camden's Britannia*

> Church3rard, who was a Salopian, speaks of these dramatic entertain-
ments, and has left a description of the quarry and its rustic theatre as they
appeared in his time : —

" I had such haste, in hope to be but brefe,
That monuments in churches were forgot :
And somewhat more, behind the walles as chiefe
Where plays have been which is most worthie note.
There is a grounde new made theatre wyse,
Both deepe and hye;, in goodlie auncient guise ;

H

Shrewsbury. 46J

Shrewsbury, in which the scholars figured, on the occasion of a
visit of the Lord President of the Welsh Marches, accompanied
by that "son Philip" whose name is still the crowning glory of
the old School.

" '573' This yeare, at the comminge in of Sir Hany Sydney, Lord
Presydent of Wales, from London, ther was shott off in a ryaltie [triumph]
18 chamber peces at a voyde place under the Wyld Copp, adjoyninge unto
Master Sherrars howse ; and also a Ijrttel from the same at the foot of the
Wyld Copp, was an excellent oracion made unto him by one of the scoUers
of the Free Schoole ; " — and ** spente and geven to Mr. Fhillipe Siddney "
— at that time nineteen years of age — "at his cominge to this towne with
my Lord P'sident his father, in wine, and cakes, and other things, 7x, zd. "

A few years later the Lord President again visited Shrews-
bury, and was entertained in great state both by the inhabi-
tants generally and by the authorities of the School.

" The 24th of April beinge St George's daye, the right hon-
orable Sir Henry Sidney, Lord President of the Marches of
Wales, beinge of the Pryvy counsell and one of the Knights of
the most noble order of the Garter, kept St George's feast in
Shrewsbury most honorably . . '. And on the first day of May
the masters of the free scoole, whose names were Thomas
Larrance, John Barker, Rychard Atkyns, and Roger Kent,
made a brave and costly bancket after supper of the same daye
before the scoole^ to the number of forty dyshes and the
masters before them. Every scoole presentynge 10 dyshes
with a shewer before every scoole." The day following this
quaint " bancket'l. we are told, " all the scollars of the sayd
free scoole being taught by the foresaid four masters, beinge in
number 360, with their masters before every of them, marchyng

Where well may sit ten thousand men at ease —
And yet the one the other not displease.
A place belowe to bayte both bull and beare ;
For players too, greate ronme and place at wyll.
And in the same a coke-pit wondrous faire
Besides where man may wrastle to their filL
A grounde most apt, and they that sit above
At once in vewe, all thys may see for love ;
. At Aston*fi playe, who had beheld thys, then.

Might well have seen there twentie thousand men." . .

4o8 The Great Schools ofEn^nd.

bravely from the sdd scoole in battell order with ther geneialls,
captens, drumms, tnimpetts, and ensigns before them, through
the town, towards a lardge fiUde (field) called the Geye, in the
Abbey suburbs of Salop, and, there devydinge their bandes
into 4 partes, met the sayde Lord President upon a lusty
courser, who turned hym round a bout and came to them, the
Generall openinge to hys Lordshyp the purpose and assembly
of hym and the rest."

On the 13th of the same month, Sir Heniy took his depar-
ture.

On this occasion, as he left by water, ''their were placed in
an ilet hard by the water syde serten appointed scollers of the
free scoole, being apparelyd all in greene and greene wyllows
upon their heads, marching by, and calling to hym, making
theire lamentable orations, sorrowinge hys departure, the which
was done so pitifully and of sutch excellency that truly it made
many, bothe in the barge upon the water, as also the people
uppon lande, to weepe, and my Lord hymself to change coun-
tenance." His Lordship's change of countenance will not
appear surprising to any one who reads the following speci-
mens of these ''lamentable orations." One boy advanced
alone and sang —

** Oh ! stay the bardge, rowe not soe fast,
Rowe not soe fast, oh 1 stay awhile ;
Oh ! stay and hear the playntts at last
Of nymphs that harbour in thys ile.

" Theyre woe is greate, great moan they make ;
With doefttl tunes they doe lament-^
They howle, they crie, Uieir leave to tacke (take) ;
Their garments greene for woe they rent."

This " tragical mirth" is almost upon a par with the immortal
Bottom's : —

" But stay ;—0, spite f
But mark ; — poor knight,
\ What dreadful dole is here I '*

And then conceive the effect of the subjoined, after a dozen
more verses of the quality just given, chanted by all the willow*
crowned boys in concert :-^

Shrewsbury. 409

*^ All togeihrr,

" And win yonr honor now depart ?
And must it needs be soe T
Would God we could lyke fishes swyme
That we might wyth thee goe.

*' Or else would God this littd ile
Were stretched out so lardge
That we on foot might follow thee,
And wayt upon thy bardge.

" But seeing that we cannot swyme,

And iland*s at an end,
Saffe passage with a shorte retume

The myghty God thee sende."

To this absurd exhibition the first Head Master was no
party. In 1569, Mr. Ashton resigned his office, and directed
the studies of the afterwards famous and unfortunate Robert
Devereux, eldest son of Walter, Earl of Essex. While so
engaged, his affection for Shrewsbury School induced him to
solicit Queen Elizabeth, successfully, to grant to its uses the
tithes of Chirbury, and to take that opportunity for constitu-
ting the government of the School on as sound a foundation as
circumstances would allow.

By Queen Elizabeth's indenture! stipulations were made
that the bailifis and burgesses should apply the profits of the
grant made by her '^ towards the maintenance of divine service
to be had in the Chapel of Clifife, in the said County of Salop,
five pounds of lawful money of England ;" other five pounds
for the Chapel of Astley; 13/. 6s. Bd. to the Vicar of St
Mai/s, and 6/. 13J. 4^/. to the maintenance of a priest in the
same church ; and that they should ** employ and bestow, for
the better maintenance of the Free Grammar School within the
Town of Salop, founded by the late King Edward the Sixth,
all the residues of the revenues and profits of the said rectory
and other the premises • • • . according to such orders and
constitutions as shall be taken in that behalf by Thomas
Ashton, clerk, now Schoolmaster of the said Grammar SchooL
... Provided always, that if the said Bailiffs and Buigesses do
not well and truly accomplish the covenants and intents in

410 Th^ Great Schools of England.

these presents expressed, that then it shall and may be lawful for
our said Sovereign Lady the Queen, her heirs and successors,
into all and singular the premises to enter, and the same to
have, receive, and retain until the covenants and intents afore-
said shall be duly satisfied, performed, supplied, or accom-
plished for that express mention of the certainty of the pre-
mises, or of any of them, or of any other gift or grant made by
us or our progenitors to the said Bailiffs and Burgesses of the
Town of Salop, or any of them, before this time, made in these
presents is not made, or any Statute, Act, ordinance, provision,
proclamation, or restraint to the contrary thereof had, made,
enacted, ordained, or provided, or any other matter, cause, or
thing whatsoever to the contrary in anywise notwithstanding."
From the last clause, and from some letters of Mr. Ashton,
still preserved, it is evident that he was invested with nearly
absolute control over the administration of the whole of Queen
Elizabeth's donation, if not over the endowment granted by
King Edward.^

^ One of these letters, which has been printed in the Report of the
Commissioners on Public Schools, is peculiarly interesting, and throws
considerable light on the disputes between the Corporation and Mr. Ashton.

" To the right Worshipful the Bailiffs, Aldermen, and Common Council
of the Town of Shrewsbury. Feb. lOth, 1573.

" Where your Worships hath requested me to alter the Orders for the
Assistant and to place a second Schoolmaster who may have yearly for
these Sue Years Sixteen Pounds, without Respect of a dead Stodc for the
School, the use whereof the poor Artificers of the Town should have had,
I have agreed to your request, and as time will serve have satisfied the
same. If you like of it you may engrosse it and annex it to the former
Schedules. If you mislike it, correct as you think good. I will set my
Hatid unto it as most of you shall agree thereupon. My Life b short and
therefore I would it were done out of Hand. Yet as my Duty requireth I
will give you some Reason of my doing. Seeing your minds be to have the
School's Money to serve only the School's use (Howsoever pity moved me
to apply it otherwise) I have now done the same, yet reserving a Surplus-
sage still, first, to the use of the Schoolto be first served ; after, as it will
appear by the Orders. I reserve the Surplussage to this end, to have
provision made in either University for such your Children as shall come
out of the same School thither : for you see now how the poor are forced to
giv^ over their Learning and Study, for that they can have no place in

Shr'ewsbury. 411

The Corporation considered the power so given to Mr. Ash-
ton was an infringement of their rights under the original
charter, and a controversy of some length, between the bur-
gesses and that gentleman ensued.

Finally, an arrangement was come to, and ail indenture tri-
partite was executed on the nth of February, 1571, between
the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, as visitor, of the first
part ; the bailiffs and burgesses, of ^e second part, and the
Master and Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge, Mr.
Ashton (who had then resigned the Mastership), and Mr. Law-
rence, the then Master, of the third part These parties bound
themselves to obey certain ordinances which were appended to

neithei' University^ in any CoUedge, in Default neither the Shire nor the
School aforetime hath made provision therefore. Seeing then you wUl
have all applied to the School use, I agree thereto, and have made Sur-
plussage first, to serve that use, neither have disannulled the Orders in the
Schedules before (that oidy excepted of the Assistant), but reserved them
to the time when the Schoolmasters are all first discharged. My reason I
make or would make so large a Surplussagie is this. I think all that may
arise of the School's Rent is too much to go to the Salaries of the three
Schoolmasters, and the Reparations of the School, for if one Schoolmaster
have in the end 40/. anotheir 20/. the third 10/. I think no School in
England hath a Salary exceeding this. And seeing we exceed others. Let
us know when we be welL The principal caie then is to make provision
for those which shall go out of this School, for their further Learning and
Study, and if the Town be benefited by the School, should not the children
rejoyce to help their Fathers f And now for the dead Stock of the School
of 200/. this is my reason. You know that the School is old and inclining
to Ruin, also casualty of Fire may happen. The Stock is ever ready
without hindering the Town to build a new SchooL Yet this was not only
my reason, which now I will declare unto you. I have considered many
times with myself in what an Evil Place the School doth stand in, both for
place of Easement whereby the fields is abused to the Annoyance of them
that pass by there, as also for that they cannot have Access thither but
that it must be by the Prisoners, whereby great Inconvenience cometh.
My meaning therefore was in time to have bought that plot of ground
Sr Andrew Corbett hath on the other side of the Street, and to have
builded a fair School there with the dead Stock of the School, and to have
had a Door through the Town Walls, and Sturs or Steps with great Stones
down to Severn^ where a fair House of Office might have been made, &c.

" Thomas Ashston.*'

4id Tke Great Schools vfEn^nd.

the indenture in two schedules; the one containing Bir.
Ashton's ordinances^ the other those of the Corporation, and
forming together a complete constitution for the School. ^

By this constitution, the chief government of the School was
placed in the joint trust of the bailiff and the Head Master,
under the general superintendence of the Visitors. A certain
amount of control, however, was vested in the Masters and
Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge, of which Mr. Ashtan
was a member. Thus, though the fonnal appointment of the
Head Master remained with the bailiffs, the right of selecting
him was transferred to St John's. On the other hand, the
College were bound to select for the post a burgess of Shrews-
buiy, if such could be found ; and, if not, then a native of
Shropshire; or, in de&ult thereof, a "sufficient man," bom
in any other county or shire, preference being given to persons
educated in the School.

It was further provided that the surplus of the School
revenues should be kept in a strong box under four locks ; and
the bailiffs and Schoolmaster were authorised to expend sums
out of it, not exceeding lo/. at a time, upon repairs of the
School and other specified purposes. The surplus revenues
were to be employed — ^first, in completing the School buildings;
secondly, in building a countiy house to which the Masters and
Scholars might resort in time of the plague, or of any infectious
sickness ; thirdly, in founding two Scholarships and two Fellow-
ships for boys educated in the School, and afterwards for
purchasing further Fellowships and Scholarships at either Uni-
versity firom time to time. The preference in the elections to
these Scholarships was to be given in the first place to natives
of the town of Shrewsbury, then to sons of burgesses bom in
the suburbs, or in the parish of Chirbury ; and, lastly, to all
natives of Shropshire. The elections were to be made by the
Master and Senior Fellows of St John's, who were to choose
" the godliest, poorest, and best leamed " of those presented to
them by the Head Master and bailiffs.

This settlement proved only temporary. In a short time

* Report^ p. 304.

Shrewsbury. 413

the controversy between the Corporation and the College was
renewed, and it continued for a great part of the seventeenth
century. At length, in 1724, the Corporation attempted to
elect a Master under the original charter, but the election was
set aside by the Court of Chancery and by the House of

In 1798, an Act was passed, in which the government of the
School was transfetred to a body of thirteen Trustees, of which
the Mayor of Shrewsbury for the time being was to be one.
These Trustees, with the exception of the Mayor, were to be
possessed of a property qualification, and were required to
be resident in the county of Salop. On the occurrence of a
vacancy, the remainder of the Trustees were to elect three
persons proper to fill it, and out of these three the Corporation
were to choose one. The Mayor was to be chairman, and to
have a second or casting vote at all meetings. The right of
St John's College to appoint the Head Master was retained ;
the preferences formerly given to burgesses of Shrewsbury was
withdrawn. It was stipulated that the sons of burgesses should
be taught gratuitously, and that the surplus revenues of the
School should be applied to the establishment of exhibitions
at the Universities, open first, to the sons of burgesses, then
to the natives of the parish of Chirbury, and, lastly, to natives
of Shropshire.

The Buildings. — The picturesque appearance of Shrewsbury,
from whatever side we approach it, the beauty of its situation
and surrounding scenery, with the richness of its historical
associations, combine to render it one of the most interesting
of our English towns. Shrewsbuiy is built upon the slopes
and summit of a gentle eminence, rising from the plain of
North Shropshire, and formed by one of the windings of
'' swift Severn " into a peninsula, the isthmus or neck of which,
on the north-^ast side, is not more than three hundred 3rards
in breadth. Beyond these limits it throws out three long
suburbs — ^the Abbey Foregate, over the English Bridge, stretch-
ing to the south-east and south ; Frankwell, beyond the Welsh
Bridge, to the north-west and west ; and the Castle Foregate,

414 ^^ Great Schools of En^and.

extending north and north-east, from the narrow street still
called the Castle-gates, which, running under the castle, tra-
verses the neck of land before-mentioned.

Ten miles to the south-east of Shrewsbury the Wrekin rises
from this plain to the height of twelve hundred feet, and near
it, still on the left bank of the Severn, are the hills overhanging
Coalbrookdale, while on the opposite side of the river com-
mences the limestone ridge extending to the picturesque hills
which form the eastern barrier of the vale of Church Stretton.

Five miles from Shrewsbury, near the confluence of the
Severn and Tern Rivers, is the village of Wroxeter, the site of
the ancient Roman town of Uriconium (Antonini Itinerazium),
or Viroconium (Ptolemy), evidently Latinised from the British
name of the neighbouring mountain, Wrekin, Vrekin, or Vrekon.
The modem name is similarly derived, Wroxeter being a cor-
ruption of Wrekin-ceaster, as nearer the Wrekin we have the
village of Wrockwardine — ^Wrekin-weardan. In the library of
Shrewsbury School are preserved the monumental stones of
several Roman soldiers, and the museum of the Natural Histoiy
and Antiquarian Society contains an ample collection of objects
discovered at various times on that site, especially during the
last few years, when excavations have been carried on with
much spirit.

From its Saxon conquerors, Pengwem (such had been its
British name) received the analogous title of Schrobbes-byrig,
" the hill of shrubs," which still remains in the modem corrup-
tion of Shrewsbury. And, when England was divided into
shires, that of which Schrobbes-byrig was the chief town was
called Schrobbes-byrigshire, by modem corruption, Shropshire.
The Normans, whose nicer ears were offended at the harshness
of the Teutonic name, softened it into Salopes-bury, whence the
town has been indifferently called Shrewsbury or Salop, and
the county Shropshire or the shire of Salop.

The School itself stands in a commanding situation on the
northem brow of the " Hill of Shrubs," opposite the castle.
Though incongruous in the details of its architecture, the
edifice, as a whole, has an imposing effect. Over the archway

SCHOOL RCOM OF SHREWSBURY SCHOOL.

Shrewsbury. 415

is a well-known Greek quotation from Isocrates, importing tliat
" if you are fond of learning you will be learned; " the two
epithets, "fond of learning" and "learned" being appropriated
severally to two statues surmounting columns on either side of
the archway, and representing a schoolboy and a graduate of
the seventeenth century, for the present school was not erected
in place of the old timber building until the year 1630 ; and
beneath the central upper window are the armorial bearings of
the then reigning sovereign, Charles I. The windows in the
higher range are those of the Great, or Upper School : the
pointed windows beyond the tower belong to the southern
extremity of the Library, and the basement windows beyond
the gateway are those of the Lower Schoolroom, in which, on
oaken boards, are painted the names of the alumni who have
gained academical distinction at the Universities.

The Large Schoolroom, which runs the whole length of the
upper story, south-westward from the tower, is, like the rest of
the building, in the Tudor style of architecture. It is 78 feet
in length by 21 feet in breadth, lighted by a Late Perpendicular
window at one end, overlooking the Head Master's house ;
besides seven square-headed windows down either side of the
room, each of which is divided into six compartments by two
transomed mullions. The roof and doors are of oak, and the
lower part of the walls is panelled with the same beneath the
line of windows.

The Chapely attended by the School on week-day mornings
and Sunday afternoons, was begun in 1595. Some years after,
it was furnished with the carved pulpit, the Bible-desk, and the
scholars' benches, all of the same dark oak. An oak screen
divides the building into a chapel and an ante-chapel. This
screen is open at the top, in a series of compartments formed
by small Corinthian pillars, from which rise semicircular arches
intersecting one another. In front of the screen, on each side
of its doorway, are now some plain oak pews for the Masters.
The two comers between these pews and the entrance of the
screen have seats for two scholars of the week, who used to go
from them to the Bible desk, in order to read the first and second

4x6 TAe Great Schools of England.

Lessons. The pews at the other end of the chapel are more
recent At the back of the ante<:hapel is a raised seat, com-
posed of one long bench, with a boldly-carved open £noiit of
dark oak, probably intended for strangers, many of vbom
attended sendee here in early tames.

77ie Library was erected also in 1595, but miderwent con-
siderable alterations in 18 15. Square-headed windows at the
ends were replaced by the present pointed windows, and at the
sides (three gables having been taken down) the walls were
finished with a parapet, uniformly with the other School bidld-
ings. In the earliest School-libraiy catalogue, mention is made
of ^ the galleiy over the library, where specially mathemotiGal
bookes and instruments were intended to bee disposed." By
t;his gallery could only be meant the old Library, or attic,
removed at this time to give height to the tower-room, and to
display the present arched ceiling, which is richly panelled and
ornamented with the armorial bearings of the School Trustees.
Dr. S. Parr wrote, in 1819 : — " Witii an exception to the Eton
libraiy, enriched as it some time ago was by Mr. Storex's col-
lection, I have seen in no Public School a Libraiy equal to that
of Shrewsbury. The room has been newly, fitted up by the
Trustees, and the books have been arranged in better order ;
and the catalogue drawn up with the uttnost fidelity and judg-
ment by the present learned Master, Dr. Samuel Butler.*'
There is, however, good reason to doubt if any of the present
catalogues can be considered complete, or if xht order of the
books be such as to make reference to them an easy matter.
To instance only the manuscripts. A list of these is printed in
'* Catalogi Librorum Manuscriptorum Anglict in unutn CoUecti^
torn. ii. p. 104. Oxford, 1697." This list is most imperfect,
for it renders them in number only thirty-seven ; while in reality
there are more than twice as many. In each MS. volume ^e
first work only has been named; in many cases, therefore,
three or four other works have been overlooked.

In other respects, the Shrewsbury School Library well merits
the eulogium Dr. Parr bestowed on it The bendfactions to it
from 1596, when the list begins, to the present day are very

irlwp.b;jry school

mt^^msm9mtmmmmmmm9^''mm^mmmmm

Shrewsbury, 417

numerous, both in books and«manuscripts. Among the latter,
the most interesting is A Chronicle of Shrewsbury ^ given by
I "The Senator"^ to Dr. Taylor, when a Fellow of St John's
! CoUege, and which Dr. Taylor left at his death with the injunc-
tion, " never to be taken out of the Library."

1 Richard Lyster, Esq. See page 434.

£B

4x8 The Great Schools of England.

CHAPTER II.

STATISTICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS.

I. Foundaiion and Government of the School, — It has been
already shown that the original Charter of King Edward VI.
was, to a considerable extent, superseded by the Indenture
made by Queen Elizabeth, and that the ordinances consequent
upon that document were in turn superseded by the Act of
1798, as this again was materially modified by the Chancery
Scheme of 1853. In accordance with the provisions of this
scheme, the School is now governed by Trustees.

GOVERNING BODY, 1865.

Viscount Hill.

Lord Berwick.

Sir Baldwin Leighton, Bt. M.P.

Sir Vincent Rowland Corbet, Bt

Lieutenant-Colonel Corbett.

W. Butler Lloyd, Esq.

T. Hope Edwardes, Elsq.
Rev. Edward Warier.
Rev. R. Lingen Burton.
John Loxdale, Esq,
John Bather, Esq.
R. L. Burton, Esq.

The Mayor of Shrewsbury {ex-officio)^ Chairman,

II. Vtsitorial Authority, — ^There is no actual Visitor, but
the Bishop of Lichfield has authority with reference to the
sanctioning of bye-laws, and the alteration of salaries.

III. Endowment Revenues, — ^The property of Shrewsbury
School consists principally of tithe-rent charges ; but it has also
money invested in the public funds, the School buildings, the
Masters' houses, a freehold house at Grinshill, and two chief
rents. The annual value of the property in 1572, appears to
have been 93/. 8j. 3//. ; in 1798 (when the Trust was vested in 13
Trustees) it was 945/. $s, ^d. ; in 181 1, it was 1,918/. 8j. iid,;
and in i860, it was 3097/. 5^. iid.

4

Shrewsbury. 419

The property and revenues are subject, however, to the
payment of stipends to the ministers of the parishes of St
Maiy and Chirbury, and to the curacies of Cleve and Astley ;
also to Scholarships or Fellowships and Exhibitions to the
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

IV. Ecclesiastical Benefices attached to the Foundation, — ^These
are: —

1. The Incumbency of the parish of St Mary, Shrewsbury.

2. The Chapelry of Astley.

3. The Chapelry of Clive.

4. The Vicarage of Chirbury.

V. 77ie McLsters and their Emotutnents. — ^The Charter of
Edward VI. provided for the appointment of two Masters only.
By Mr. Ashton's ordinances it was ordered that there should be
four Schoolmasters or teachers, the principal or chief of whom
was to receive 40/, /^r annum; the second, 30/. \ the third, ao/. ;
and the fourth, called Accidence Master, 10/. The qualifica-
tions of the First and Second Master, as required by the
Bailiffs* Ordinances, were that each should be at the time of
election a Master of Arts of two years' standing at the least,
well able to make a Latin verse, and learned in the Greek
tongue. The third Master was to be a Bachelor of Arts at
least, " and of sufficient learning as the place requireth."

There are now, in all, eight Masters. Of these, five only
receive salaries from the Trustees ; the rest are paid directly or
indirectly by the Head Master. Four of them, are Classical
Masters, one is Mathematical Master, one French and German,
one is for Writing and Mapping and for Accidence, and one is
appointed as Tutor for all boys below the Sixth Form, and for
the direction of the studies of the " Non-collegiate class."

The amount of remuneration received by the Masters is very
moderate. The net income of the Head Master, from his
salary and the tuition fees paid by the bo)rs, is not much above
2,000/. per annum. The Second Master receives from the
same sources about 560^!; the Third Master about 225/.;
the First Assistant Master 300/.; the Second, 200/.; and the
Third, who is also Mathematical Master, 200/. To these

£ E a

420 ITie Great Schools of England,

amounts, however, some addition must be made for private
pupils ; and it is to be observed that some of the Assistants
have rooms provided for them, and dine at Dr. Kennedy's
table.i

The Assistant Masters have no statutory voice in regard to
the School studies, but they usually meet once a week for the
purpose of consultation.

VI. JTie School. — ^The highest number of boys the School can
boast is about 300. At the present time there are 194, of
whom 108 are boarders; 27 burgesses' sons, and as such
entitled to gratuitous education ; and 86 day scholars without
privileges, who reside with their friends, or with parties to
whom they are confided by their friends.

The Bailiffs' Ordinances of 1577, give no fixed limit to the
age of admission. The qualifications were that the applicant
should be able to '' write his own name with his own hand ;
read English perfectly ; have his accidence without the book,
and give any case of any number of a noun substantive or
adjective, any person of any number of a verb active or passive,
and make a Latin by any of the concords, the Latin words
being 'first given him."

So qualified, he was admitted on payment of an entrance
fee according to the following scale, and was then entitled to
a gratuitous education as long as he remained in the School : —

" Item, eveiy scholar shall pay for his admission, viz. : —

A lord's son .•.»•• ten shillings.

A knight's son six shillings and eightpence.

A son and heir apparent to a gentleman . , threeshillingsandfourpence.
And for every other of their sons .... two shillings and sixpence.
And any under those degrees above-said, and )

bom without the county of Salop . . . J ^^ shiUmgs.
And any under those degrees above-said, and )

bom in the county of Salop J twelvepence.

Every burgess's son inhabiting within the 1
town, or the liberties thereof or of the \ fourpence.
Abbey Foregate, if he be of ability . . . )

The son of every other person there in- )
habiting {eightpence.

* Report^ p. 312.

^iPBi— ■igBieBPBB^^^!Wggpaj^^Bga...MI ^ ■' -.-:

Shrewsbury, 421

The Chanceiy Scheme for the management of the School,
August, 1853, provides that no boy shall be admitted under
the age of eight years, and who shall not previously thereto
be able to write and read English; and that no boy shall
continue in the School after the end of the half-year which
shall expire next after he shall have attained the age of 20
years.

According to the same '* Scheme/' the sons of buigesses of
Shrewsbury are to be admitted without entrance fee, and are to
be exempt from payment of any kind for instruction in any
matter which may be prescribed to be taught in the School

Every other boy admitted and continued in the School is to
pay an admission fee of two guineas, and the yearly sum of
fifteen guineas for instruction.

It is further directed that the Head Master keep a correct
registry of the scholars; distinguishing boarders from. such as
are not boarders, and such as are entitled to gratuitous educa-
tion from such as are not, and showing also the daily attendance
of the respective scholars. Further, that a report shall be
transmitted twice in eveiy year to the parents and guardians
of each boy, showing his progress and general conduct during
the preceding half year.

Division of Forms, — ^The 194 boys now in the School are
distributed as follows : —

Sixth Fonn, 3 divisions.

Fifth 2 „

The Shell 2 „

Fourth Form 2 „

Third do. 2 „
Second do.
First do.

The subjects of study at Shrewsbury are much the same as
at every other large Public School.

The amount of Classical work done, and the number of
books read in the ordinary divisions of the School are very
great ; and the success which Shrewsbury men have achieved
at the Universities is a proof of their admirable training. The

433 The Great Schools ofEn^nd.

Porson prize, at Cambridge, in particular has of late years
been almost monopolized by them.^

Mathemaiics are compulsory on the whole School, and aU
boys, except the Lower Sixth Form, who have only three hours,
devote four hours to their study. The arrangement of Forms
in the Mathematical corresponds with that in the Classical
School.

French also forms part of the School-work ; but though pro-
ficiency in the former affects a bo/s place in School, proficiency
in French has no such influence. Moreover, the Praepostors
are allowed to discontinue the study of French in order to
devote their time more exclusively to Classics.*

Drawing \% encouraged, and the Head Master,' Dr. Kennedy,
expresses a strong opinion of its value as an auxiliary to Clas-
sical study. There is, however, no regular teaching of Drawing
in the School, those boys who learn it obtain their instruction
at the Government School of Design in Shrewsbury.

History and Geography are both taught ; the former by the
use of compendiums and abridgments, the latter firom Dr.
Butler's work.

Natural Science, — There are in the School some models and
diagrams in Natural Philosophy, but no experimental apparatus,
and no provision for instruction in this branch of knowledge.

The following table of marks in a Sixth Form Examination
may be taken as an index of the general valuation of studies
at Shrewsbury : —

Total, 3,000 marks.

1. Translations from Greek and Latin authors • 600 for 4 papers.

2. Composition, Greek, Latin, and English • . 700 „ 5

3. Philology, Greek, Latin, and English . . . 400 „ 2

4. Divinity 300 „ 2

5. History and geography 400 „ 2

6. Mathematics (including arithmetic) .... 600 „ 3

3»ooo*

Private Tuition, — ^The tutorial system of Eton, Harrow, and
Rugby does not exist at Shrewsbury, Dr. Kennedy believing

1 Report, p. 311. 1 Ibid. » Ibid,

^^^^^^^^^^^^^''^B^t^m^^mBKxmmmKSf^'mmHBaa^tmam

Shrewsbury. 423

that the ordinary School-work in Classics and Mathematics is
sufficient to ensure success in competitive examinations to any
able and attentive boy. Extra private tuition when allowed at
Shrewsbury, is designed to bring a boy forward in some subject
for a special purpose.

Examinations^ Exhibitions, and Frizes, — A boy at Shrewsbury
School rises mainly by proficiency. Age and standing, how-
ever, combined with good conduct, have an influence on his
promotion.

Two Examinations are held in the year — one in February,
the other in August; or, to speak with more precision, two
Examinations are commenced, one before the Christmas and
one before the Midsummer vacation, and are concluded on
the reassembling of the School in February and in August^
Promotions are awarded as the result of these Examinations.
But general promotions also take place at Lady-day and
Michaelmas, for which there are no special Examinations.

The Exhibitions at Shrewsbury are very numerous. Dr.
Kennedy, in his evidence before the Public Schools Commis-
sion, gives a list of twenty-six Exhibitions or Scholarships to
which Shrewsbury boys have claim. They vary in value from
10/. to 6^1, per annum, and are tenable from three to eight
years. A few of them are free Exhibitions, which may be held
at any College, at either University; but the majority are
tenable at particular Colleges only; some at St. John's College,
Cambridge, others at Magdalen College, Cambridge, and others
at Christ Church, Oxford, or at two or three other Colleges.
In some cases preferences are given to the sons of Shrewsbury
burgesses, and to natives of Shropshire.

The annual aggregate amount now paid in Exhibitions is
about 1,280/.

Prizes, more than twenty in number, are given for Classical,
Mathematical, and other attainments. The most important of
these is the "Aggregate Merit Prize;" a prize given to the boy
(or, in cases of equality, boys) if any Form below the Sixth,
who stands highest in the aggregate of literary, industrial, and

* Reportj p. 312.

4ar4 TAe Great Schools ofEr^Umi.

moral qualifications. This prize is peculiar to Shrewsbury, as
also is another reward called "merit money/' of which Dr.
Kennedy gives the following account : —

'' Four times in the half-year (monthly) the marks are con-
sidered ; all the marks which have been given to a boy for his
dififerent work, whether that is classical or mathematical, all
merit marks for punctuality at chapel, for good exercises, and
various things for which merit marks are given, — these are all
considered, and a sum is awarded in proportion to the bo/s
place in the School. Thus the head boy has merit money for
surpassing any other boy in the School ; half a guinea being
the amount of his merit money. That is the maximum, and
that is only given to the head boy. As to the Praepostors, the
highest merit money they can obtain is ts. \ the Lower Sixth,
and upper division of the Fifth, 51. ; the lower division of the
Fifth, 4^-. ; then it goes down to 3^. ^(L and the little boys would
only get half a crown at most ; they would not get ^e max-
imum unless they had all Vs. i>. all the highest marks ; other-
wise the merit money diminishes down to one shilling, that is
the minimum. If it is a very little boy he may be pleased
with the smaller coin of si^^ence, but that is very seldom put
down."

Monitorial System. — The monitorial system at Shrewsbury
differs from that of other Public Schools. The disuse of the
right of punishing distinguishes it from the system which pre-
vails at Harrow, Rugby, and elsewhere ; while the recognised
position of the Praepostors as instruments for the maintenance
of School discipline, and the organized character of the body,
distinguish it from the system at Eton. The Praepostors or
Monitors of Shrewsbury School are twelve boys, who have
obtained their rank by literary merit only. They are privileged
to wear hats, to carry a stick, to go beyond the School bounds,
and to go home a day earlier than others. Their special duties
are to read lessons in the Chapel, and to call the School roll.
Their chief importance, however, results from the relation in
which they stand to the Head Master on the one hand, and to
the School on the other in matters of discipline. They engage

Shrewsbury* 435

by signature on the part of the School to do and prevent many
things. They conduct negotiations with the Head Master on
behalf of the School, acting as representatives of the interests
of the boys. The Praepostors have the power of setting impo-
sitions to a limited extent, but they are not permitted to use
physical means to enforce their authority.^

Famng, — ^There is said to be very little fagging at Shrews-
bur^; {'our fags are allotted to the Praepostors* room, and are
employed in laying the breakfast things, running with messages,
and so forth ; but there is no " individual fagging." The four
fags, too, are changed every week. On certain days in the
week all boys are required to attend at football, the Praepostors
engaging to exempt any boy named by the Head Master as
unfitted to join the game.'

Punishments. — Discipline is maintained by a system of
rewards and punishments. One of the Masters holds the
salaried office of " Secretary of Discipline." He keeps a book
with two pages for each boy's name, in which are recorded
his merit marks and penal marks. Merit marks are awarded
monthly. The greatest number obtainable by one boy is
twelve, namely :—

For good classical work 2

„ mathematical work 2

„ French work 2

„ exercises 2

For punctual attendance at chapel ...... 2

For absence of penal marks 2

12

Four merit marks purchase a half holiday in the ensuing
month ; any number above this is rewarded by merit money
assigned.

Boys who have no penal marks during the half year, and, in
the summer, those who are in the three first classes, are allowed
to go home several days before the rest

The ordinary punishments are impositions, detention during

» Report, p. 32a ■ Ibid,

436 The Great Schools ofEn^nd,

play-time, flogging, and expulsion. Flogging, from which the
Sixth Form are exempt, is applied only by the Head Master,
and not oftener than six times in the half year. Public expul-
sion has only been adopted once by Dr. Kennedy during his
twenty-nine years of office, and private expulsion very rarely.

Sports and Pastimes. — The ancient Bailiffs' ordinances direct
that the Scholars shall play only on Thursday, unless there be
a holy-day in the week, or at the earnest request of some man
of honour, or of great worship, credit, or authority. Their play
was to be " shooting in the long bow, and chess play, and no
other games, unless it be running, wrestling, or leaping, and no
game to be above id, or match over 4^" It is further provided
that on every Thursday " before they go to play," the Scholars
" shall for exercise declaim and play one act of a comedy."

There is now but one regular half-holiday in the week — on
Saturday; but there are occasional half-holidays, some of
custom, others contingent, which upon an average almost
amount to a second in the week. There is a play-ground of
about three quarters of an acre near the School, with a fives
court ; and a cricket-ground, rented by the Head Master, five
acres in extent, at the distance of half a mile. The games
chiefly practised are cricket, football, fives, quoits, and other
athletic sports, as running, leaping, &c.

'' Hounds'' also is a favourite amusement, as are boating
and bathing.

The vacations are eight weeks in June and July, and eight
weeks in December and Janiiary : the school-year being thirty-
six weeks.

Religious Observances. — ^The boys attend morning service on
Sunday at St. Mai/s church, and in the afternoon they attend
at the School chapel, where the Head Master preaches to
them. There are also early morning and evening prayers, with
Scripture reading and an exposition or commentary. A con-
siderable number of boys attend the monthly Communion,
although the attendance is quite voluntary. There are Divinity
lessons also on Sunday and Monday morning, and Divinity
papers are set in the School Examinations.

Shrewsbury. 427

Boarding-houses. — Most of the boarders reside in one of two
houses belonging to the Head Master, the senior boys being
taken into the School-house, where the Head Master himself
lives, and the juniors being placed in a rented house adjoining,
under the care of a Matron and one of the Assistant Masters.
In these two houses there is accommodation for about seventy
boys, sleeping three or five in a room, and using three or four
apartments in common for study. Dr. Kennedy, however,
provides a third house, laid out in studies, four boys in each.
In this house his boarders chiefly live in the daylight hours,
but dining and sleeping in his other houses. There are also
three common rooms for senior boys, in one of which is a good
library, to which each Praepostor gives a guinea on leaving
school. Afler tea all boys not in common rooms attend in the
great School with a Master, and prepare their work. At five
minutes before nine the prayer-bell rings to summon all boys,
servants, &c.; after which the Head Master reads and comments
on some passage of Scripture, taken in order. The prayers
are read, and the junior boys go to bed, the seniors remaining
in common rooms till 10-15 p.m.^

The Second Master is also permitted to ial^e boarders, and
has accommodation for about twenty boys ; and the Master of
Modem Languages has of late years been granted the same
privilege to the extent of four boarders.

The diet and the scale of charges are the same in all the
houses. Breakfast, at 9 a.m. consists of tea, sugar, milk, and
bread and butter.

Dinner, at 2 p.m. consists of two meats, vegetables, bread,
and table-beer, with pudding or tart four times a week.

Tea, from 6*15 to 7*15 p.m. according to the season; the
same as breakfast In the Senior Hall, rations of tea and sugar
are given out twice a week ; in the Junior, the Matron makes
tea for all.

Boys bring to School two pairs of sheets, the only things in
the shape of furniture which diey are called upon to provide.

Day-boys. — The number of day-boys at this time is about

1 Report, p. 31a

4a8 7^ Great Schools of En^nd.

eighty, of whom about one-fourth are entitled to gratuitous
education.. The remainder pay the same tuition fees as the
boarders, and all receive precisely the same instruction except
the nightly Scripture readings, which are a part of family wor-
ship. In School, the two classes are on a footing of equality,
but out of School they do not appear to associate, especially in
the lower part of the School The day-boys are treated as
being in every respect the social equals of the boarders, and
considered to be entitled to join in the School sports. When
away from School, however, they are exempt from the Masters'
control ; and, although they are sometimes Praepostors, they are
not allowed to wear the School cap, except in going to and from
School.^

House and School expenses of a Boarder at Shrewsbury SchooL
— ^The average amount of the year's bills approaches loo/.
How made up will be best understood by the following half-
year's bill of a Prsspostor: —

Necessary Expenses,

**Board with single bed, cricket-ground, £ s. d,

bathing attendance, &c 26 5 o ) ^ , ,.

Tuition' 7.; 6 J^

•Washing 276) £«?«»«•

'Allowance (ix. a week above 4th Form) . o 19 o
Merit Money — I8t, 5^. j 2d, 5x. ; 3</. 5;. ;

4tJ^ S'- I o o r pri^te

JoumeyhMne I 10 o > Expenses.

Letters and parcels 002*

^Printed papers 050

*Private study 220

Surgeon 130 Health.

Bookseller 176

Stationer • o 16 i

Hatter o 18 o I Tradesmen's

Tailor o 16 o ^ Bills.

Shoemaker • . • o 10 o

♦Haircutter 020

Total . ;f 47 18 9

* Invariable, except that tuition fees are not charged to the sons of

burgesses.

1 Report^ p. 31a

Shrewsbury.

429

To this must be added for the first year, —

Entrance to the School .•.•,....220
Entrance to Boarding-hoose ,440

;f 6 6 o

Extra Charges in the Option of Parents.

Private instruction in Classics, half-jear

Ditto in French ditto .

4, German . • . . • ditto .

Ornamental Drawing . . . ditto .

Linear ditto ditto .

Drilling ditto .

Dandng ••••»•• ditto •

£ /. d,
880

2 2

3

3

2

I
3

3
3
2
I

3

o
o
o
o
o
o

Parents intending to remove a boy from the School, are
required to give three months' notice, or pay the charge for
' three months' board, a claim enforced only in case of actual
\^ loss arising from the omission.

430 ^^ Great Schools of England.

CHAPTER III.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

Distinguished Members of Shrewsbury School.

UST OF H^D 2CASTBRS FROM THE FOUNDATION.

1562. Thomas Ashton.

156S. Thomas Lawrence.

1583. John Meighan.

1636. Thomas Chaloner.i^

1646. Richard Pigott

1662. Thomas Chaloner {again).

1664. Andrew Taylor.

1687. Richard Lloyd.

1723. Hugh Owen.
1727. Robert Phillips.
1735. Leonard Hotchkiss.
1754. Charles Newling.
1770. James Atcherley.
1798. Samuel Butler.'
1836. Benjamin Hall Kennedy.

In the roll of memorable persons who owed their youthftil
training to the Schola Eegia SalopiensiSy star-like shines the

1 Chaloner was a devoted Royalist, and received his dismissal when the
Parliamentary party got the upper hand. For some years he was employed
as a private tutor, but in 1653 we find him Master of Ruythen School.
Two years later, a decree was issued that no preacher or schoolmaster who
had been ejected for serving the king should be again admitted to those
offices, and once more he was expelled from his post In 1656-7, with the
aid of his son as second Master, he opened Newport School, and in the
course of two years they had 244 Scholars, many of them sons of the first
families in the county. At the Restoration, Mr. Pigott, who had held the
Head Mastership of Shrewsbury School from the time of Mr. Chaloner's
expulsion, was himself dismissed, and the latter resumed his old office.

s Dr. Butler was educated, under Dr. James, at Rugby, where his rapid
advance in scholarship gave promise of the distinction which he after-
wards attained. In 1792 he entered St John's Collie, Cambridge.
His career at the University was as brilliandy successful as his course at
School. After five years' residence he was elected Fellow of St John's,
and in 1798 he accepted the Head Mastership of Shrewsbury School,
which, by his moral and intellectual excellences he raised to a level with
the best seminaries of the kingdom. About this time he was seleded by

Shrewsbury. 431

name of the accomplished poet, the refined gentleman, the
gallant soldier, Sir Philip Sydney;^ next to it is that of his

the S3mdic8 of the Cambridge UniTersity Press to undertake a new edition
of j^chylus with the text and notes of Stanley. In 181 1 he proceeded to
the d^pree of Doctor in Divinity, and was presented with a Prebendal
Stall at Lichfield. A few years subsequently he became Archdeacon of
Derby, and, finally, in 1836, he was promoted to the Episcopal see of
Lichfield,

^ The most interesting memorial of the school days of this " Scipio,

Cicero, and Petrarch of his time," is the following letter, little known,

which was written to him while he was at Shrewsbury School, by his

i father, Sir Henry Sydney, and to which is attached a postscript from hia

mother, as beautiful and tender as the letter itself is wise and admirable.
' " Sonne Philip, I haue receiued two letters from you, the one written in
Latine, the other in French, which I take in good parte, and will you to
exercise that practise of learning often, for it will stand you in most steed
I in that profession of lyfe that you are borne to liue in. And now sithence
this is my first letter that euer I did write to you, I will not that it be all
' empty of some aduices, which my naturall care of you prouoketb me to
I wish you to follow, as documentes to you in this your tender age. Let
'your first action be the lifting vp of your minde to Almighty God by
/ hartie praier, and feelingly digest the wordes you speak in praier with
' continuall meditation, and thinking of him to whom you pray and vse this
'■ as an ordinarie, and at an ordinarie houre, whereby the time it selfe will
put you in remembrance to doo that thing which you are accustomed to
'> doo in that time. Apply your studie such houres as your discreet Master doth
I assigne you earnestly, and the time I know hee will so limit as shalbe both
I sufficient for your learning, yea and salfe for your health ; and marke the
I sence and matter of that you doo reade as well as the words, so shall you
\ both enrich your tongue with wordes, and your wit with matter, and
) iudgement wil grow, as yeares groweth in you. Be humble and obedient
. to your master, for vnlesse you frame your self to obey others, yea and
' feele in your selfe what obedience is, you shal neuer be able to teach otheis \^
how to obey you. Be courteous of gesture, and affable vnto all men,
with diuersitie of reuerence according to the dignitie of the person, there is
nothing that winneth so much with so little cost, vse moderate diet, so as
after your meale you may find your wit fresher and not more duller, and
your body more liuely and not more heauie, seldome drinke wine, and yet
, somtimes do, least being inforced to drinke vpon the sudden you should
; find your selfe inflamed, vse exercise of bodie, but such as is without perill
I of your bones, or ioints, it will increase your force and enlarge your breath,
' delite to bee cleanly aswell in all parts of your body as in your garments, it
' shall make you grateful! in each company and otherwise lothsome, giue

your

>t

V

43 3 The Great Schools of England.

noble kinsman LoiukBrooke, who in his epitaph sums up the
history pf a prolonged life in one short sentence — ^^ Fulke

your selfe to be merie, for yon degenerate from yoar father if you find not
your selfe most able in wit and bodie, to do any thing when you be most
merie, but let your mirth be euer void of all Rcurrillitie and biting words to
i any man, for an wound gtuen by a worde is oftentimes harder to bee cured
\ then that which is giuen with the sword: be you rather a hearer and
I bearer away of other mens talke, then a beginner or procurer of spedi,
j otherwise you shalbe accompted to delite to heare your self speake. Be
' modest in ech assemblie, and rather be rebuked of light fdowes for maiden-
like shamefastnes, then of your sad friends for peart boldnes : think vpon
eueiy worde that you will speake before you vtter it, afid remember how
nature hath rampered vp as it were the tongue with teeth, lips, yea and
haire without the lips, and all betokening raines and bridles to the lesse
Tse of that member ; aboue all things tell no vntruth, no not in trifles, the
custome of it is nought : And let it not satisfie you that the hearers for a
time take it for a truth, yet after it will be knowne as it is to your shame,
for there cannot be a greater reproch to a Gentleman than to be accompted
a Iyer. Study and endeuour your selfe to be veituously occupied, so shall
you make such an habite of well doing in you, as you shall not know how
to do euill though you would : Remember my Sonne the Noble bloud you
are discended of by your mothers side, and thinke that only by veituous
life and good action, you may be an ornament to that ylustre family, and
otherwise through vice and sloth you may be accompted Lobes generis^ a
spot of your kin, one of the greatest cursses that can happen to man.
Well my little Phillips this is enough for me and I feare to much for yon,
but yet if I finde that this light meat of digestion do nourish any thing the
weake stomack of your yoong capacitie, I will as I finde the same grow
stronger, feede it with tougher food. Conmiend mee most hartily vnto
Maister Justice Corbet, old Master Onslowe, and my Coosin his sonne.
Farewell, your mother and I send you our blessings, and Almighty God
graunt you his, nourish you with his feare, goueme you with his grace, and
make you a good seruant to your Prince and Countrey.

Your louing Father,

Henry Sidnby."

A post script by my Lady Sidney in the skirts of my L, JPresidenfs letter^
to her sayd Sonne Phillip,

** Your Noble and carefull Father hath taken paynes with his owne hand,
to giue you in this his letter, so wise, so learned, and most requisite pre-
cepts for you to follow, with a diligent and humble thankefiiU minde, as I
will not withdrawe your eies from beholding and reuerent honoring the
same : No, not so long time as to read any letter from me, and therefore at

Shrewsbury* 433

Grevil^ Servant to Queene Elizaheth^O>uncdkr to King James^
and Frendto Sir Philip Sydney} From the" names which follow
we select a few of those best known. Of the Shrewsbury pre-
lates and divines, foremost are Dr. Thompson, the present
Archbishop of York; Bowers, Bishop'^T Chichester, 1724;
and Thomas,^ successively of St. Asaph, Lincoln, and Salisbury,
1 743 — 6 1 ; Dr. Scott, Master of Baliol, and Dr. Cradock, Prin-
cipal of Brazenose Colleges, Oxford ; Dr. Bateson, Master

this time I will write vnto you no other letter than this, wherby I first blesse
you, with my desire to God to plant in you his grace, and secondarily
wame you to haue alwaies before the eyes of your mind, these excellent
counsailes of my Lord your deere Father, and that you fayle not con-
tinually once in foure or five dales to reade them ouer. And for a finall
leave taking for this time, see that you shewe your selfe as a louing obedient
Scholer to your good Maister, to goueme you yet many yeeres, and that
my Lord and I may heare that you profite so in your learning, as thereby
you may encrease our louing care of you, smd deserue at his handes the
continuance of his great ioy, to have him often witnesse with his own
hande the hope he hath in your well doing. Farewell my littJe Phillip^

^ and once againe the Lord blesse you.

^^ Your louing Mother,

Marie Sidney.*'

^ It is somewhat curious that two men destined to figure so conspicuously
in the country's annals subsequently, should have entered the same School
on the same day. In the Register we read : —

"Sasi gs«(ii X564, 16 en. l?fb. V^tltppns i^flBCt Cfiis et terns Iftmrfct SOiun
#imtcs tte fmsftnt (n C«nlt, Csstise, ct Oonlni 9vtctfms confindiiB (Samtrlae. nt^
non 4»rtt(Bls Qfrftrteiii IBlUtts. ^

" ^ottlftus tfrffftcll fltiiB et (seres ^iulti Ccestell StBtf rrl te BeancUnpe Crarte (■ ^
emstt naaTlDUt. esfeem tie." — ^

< Respecting this prelate there was an odd story once current, on the
' authority of the late Bishop Newton (of Bristol). '* There were at the
same time two Dr. Thomas's who were not easily distinguished ; for some-
body was speaking of Dr. Thomas, and it was asked, ' Which Dr. Thomas
do you mean?'— 'Dr. John Thomas.' 'They are both named John.'—
* Dr. Thomas who has a living in the City.'— 'They both have livings in
the City.' * Dr. Thomas who is chaplain to the king.' — ' Both are
chaplains to the king.' 'Dr. Thomas who is an eloquent preacher.'—
' They are both eloquent preachers.' • Dr. Thomas, then, who squints ! *
— < Sir, they both squint' " Eventually, to add to the coincidences, they
both became Bishops I

F F

»

, I

I

I

434 The Great Schools of EnglantL

of St. John's, Cambridge; the Deans of Wells and Llandaff;
Archdeacons Wilson, Evans, France, Crawley, Foulk.es,
and CoBBOLD ; Dr. E. H. Gifford, late Head Master of Bir-
mingham School ; Dr. Peile, late Head Master of Repton
School, and Dr. Humphrey, Rector of St Martin's. Among
those eminent in other walks are. Sir Joijn^Harrington, to
whom we are indebted for the first English version of Ariosto*s
Orlando Furioso; Sir Edwin Sandys, the friend and pupil
of "Judicious'' Hooker; his brother, George Sandys, the
traveller ; James Harrington, the author^r Oceana^ who,
though a speculative republican, was the faithful friend of
Charles I. and attended him to the scaffold ; Sir Thomas
Jones, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, Sir Thomas
Powis, Attorney-General to James II. who, with Sir William
Williams, Solicitor-General, and subsequently Speaker of
the House of Commons, conducted the trial of the seven
bishops; Richard Lyster,^ the head of the Shropshire
Tories, and who, from his long parliamentary career of forty-
five years, was called " the Senator ;" George Saville, Mar-
quis of Halifax * (Macaula/s " AccomplisKed Trimmer") ;

1 ** The Senator" was a great oddity. In his progress to London he
/ I travelled in a coach and six and was a week on the road. Upon leaving
I home his principal tenants and tradesmen accompanied him as far as the
I Watling Street, where they were regaled at his expense. When he reached
; Highgate he was met by a select body of his London tradesmen, who
: ushered him to his town house in Bow Street, Covent Garden, and upon
> his return to the country the same ceremonies were always repeated.

« Of Halifax, now believed to be the author of Maxims and ReJUctioru^
Lord Macaulay says : — "Among the statesmen of that age Halifax was in
, genius the first ... He always saw passing events, not in the point of view
in which they commonly appear to one who bears a p^ in them, but in the
point of view in which after the lapse of many years they appear to the philo-
sophic historian. . . . He was the chief of those politicians whom the two
great parties contemptuously called Trimmers, Instead of quarrelling with
this nickname, he assumed it as a title of honour, and vindicated with great
vivacity the dignity of the appellation." And very sensibly so toa ** Why,"
he asks, *' after we have played the fool with throwing Whig and Tory at
one another, as boys do snowballs, should we grow angry at a new name,
which by its signification might do as much to put us into our wits as the
other has done to put us out of them ? This innocent word Trimmer

Shrewsbury, 435

William Wycherley, the dramatist ; Ambrose Phillips, who,
notwithstanding Pope's satirical allusions to his wit, was a man
of varied ability ; Dr. John Taylor,^ the Editor of Lysias
and Demosthenes^ who bequeathed his extensive library and
considerable fortune to Shrewsbury School ; Mr. Munro, the
Editor of Lucretius; Mr. Major, the Editor of Juvenal; Mr.
Shilleto, the celebrated Greek scholar ; Mr. W. G. Clark,
the accomplished public orator of Cambridge; Mr. Charles
Darwin, the great naturalist; Lieutenant - Colonel D.
,YsoNs; Lieutenant-Colonel Montague; Mr. Arthur
Phayre, Commissioner at Ava ; the late Rev. C. Hartshorne;
Mr. Basil Jones, historian of St David's ; and Mr. Smart
Hughes, the traveller and historian.

signifies no more than this : that if men are together in a boat, and one
j part of the company would weigh it down on one side, another would
I make it lean as much the contrary ; it happens that there is a third opinion
, of those who conceive it would do as well if the boat went even, without
\ endangering the passengers. Now 'tis hard to imagine by what figure in
J language, or by what rule in sense, this comes to be a fault, and it is much
more a wonder it should be thought a heresy."

^ Boswell records an anecdote told by Dr. Johnson of this learned and
very amiable man, who was the son of a poor barber in Shrewsbury,
and originally intended for the same line of business. *' Demosthenes
Taylor, as he was called," said Johnson, " that b the editor of Demosthenes^
was the most silent man, the merest statue of a man that I have ever seen.
I once dined in company with him, and all he said during the whole time
was no more than, Richard, How a man should say only Richard^ it is
not easy to imagine. But it was thus ; Dr. Douglas was talking of Dr.
Zachary Grey, and ascribing to him something that was written by Dr.
Richard Grey, so, to correct him, Taylor said, * Richard? " In comment-
ing on this story, the biographer of Demosthenes Taylor suggests that as
Taylor was remarkable for an easy flow of talk, and an almost irrepressible
love of narrating anecdotes, his silence was for that evening only, and
/ might have been the result of his feeling annoyed at the ** robust " style in
; which the Great Cham of literature was wont, in mixed companies, to
monopolize the a)nversation.

V V 2

436 The Great Schools of England,

EDUCATIONAL STAFF OF SHREWSBURY SCHOOL IN 1865.

Head Master — Rev. Benjamin Hill Kennedy, D.D. Prebendary of

Lichfield.

Second Master — Rev. John Rigg, M. A. Late Fellow of St. John's

College, Cambridge.

Third Master — Rev. Henry Greenwood, M.A.
Assistant Masters,

Rev. G. W. Fisher, M.A.
Rev. J. Chapman, M.A.
Rev. T. W. Lewis, M.A.
G. Preston, Esq. B.A. '

T. A. Bentley, Esq. {fiioeUm Lan-
guages),
Mr. T. N. Henshaw {Accidence and
Writing),

Shmvshury, 437

CHAPTER IV.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE PUBLIC
I SCHOOLS' COMMISSIONERS.

Subject to an exception of small importance concerning one
of the boarding-houses, the Commissioners consider all their
General Recommendations applicable to Shrewsbury, and they
add the following special Recommendations : —

That the Governing Body consist of thirteen members, of
whom three should be named by the Corporation of Shrews-
bury, one by the Master and Fellows of St John's College,
Cambridge, one by the Masters and Fellows of Magdalen
College, Cambridge, one by the Dean and Chapter of Clirist
Church, Oxford, and three by the Crown. The other four
members to be elected by the Governing Body itself. The
Governors at their first meeting to elect one of their number to
be Chairman, and another to be Deputy Chairman.

That the Corporation, the three Colleges, and the Crown at
once nominate one apiece, to be added to the Governing Body,
which will thus be raised to seventeen members exclusive of
the Mayor, whose tenure of office is only temporary, and that
there be no fresh appointment till the number has been reduced
below thirteen ; except that in case of the death or resignation
of any of the five additional members before that minimum has
been reached, the vacancy be supplied by the same authority
as that by which the member dying or resigning had originally
been appointed. After the number of the Governors has been
reduced below thirteen, the vacancies to be filled by alternate
nominations by the Corporation and the Crown, until each has
nominated three members. The next four vacancies to be filled
by election.

J

438 77^ Great Schools of England.

That the Governors should be members of the Church of
England, and persons qualified by their positions or attainments
to fill that situation with advantage to the School, and those
nominated by the Crown should be Graduates of Oxford or
Cambridge, and men eminent in science or literature.

That whenever the whole number of the Governing Body is
complete six should be a quorum, and that when it is not
complete a proportion not less than one-half of the existing
body should constitute a quorum.

That the right of veto upon the selection of the Head Master
now given to the Visitor should be discontinued.

That inasmuch as by the arrangements made by the Cam-
bridge University Commissioners, and acquiesced in by Mag-
dalen College, the Scholars of Shrewsbury School have been
deprived of their exclusive claim to the Millington Fellowships
at that college, it is just that the Millington Scholars or Ex-
hibitioners from Shrewsbury School, should, on their side, be
released from the necessity of entering at Magdalen College,
and that they should be allowed to hold their scholarships or
exhibitions at any College at Oxford or Cambridge.

That the Careswell Exhibitions, and all other scholarships
and exhibitions and other emoluments to which boys of Shrews-
bury School are now eligible, either primarily or in default of
other candidates to whom a preference has been given, and
the emoluments of which are supplied from funds not held by
or for any particular College, be held at the option of the
successful candidates respectively, at any College at either
University.

That a scheme be prepared for bringing all the funds for
Scholarships and Exhibitions into one common fund, and com-
muting the various Scholarships and Exhibitions which are now
tenable at various Colleges for various terms for a fixed number
of Exhibitions worth from 30/. to 80/. per annum, tenable at
any College at either University, and for the uniform term of
four years, attaching, as far as possible, the names of the
original Founders to the commuted Exhibitions.

That the right of free education at Shrewsbury School be

Shrewsbury, 439

limited to 40 bo3rs at a time, and that these 40 be called Free
Scholars, and be selected from among the sons of burgesses in
the first instance, and, after these have been provided for, then
by competitive examinations open to all Her Majesty's subjects
under the age of 15.

That after the expiration of 25 years, all local and other
particular rights to free education at the School be abolished,
and that thereafter the free Scholarships be filled up by free
competition open to all Her Majesty's subjects.

That all the boys in the School be equally eligible^ to the
several Scholarships and Exhibitions at the Universities.

That the tuition fees should be raised to twenty guineas, and
that the Governors should pay those of the Scholars.

That it is expedient to suspend a portion of the Exhibitions
for so many years as may be requisite, in order to meet the
demand for new buildings.

That a sum be forthwith expended sufficient to provide a
site for, and build, two boarding houses, one capable of con-
taining not less than 60 boys to be kept by the Head Master,
and one capable of containing not less than 40 boys to be
kept by the Under Master.

That the Governors select two places for this purpose, of
which the one intended for the Head Master's boarding house
immediately to be erected should form part of a larger design,
comprehending a plan for School buildings hereafter to be
raised when funds shall be forthcoming, and the occasion for
doing so shall seem to the Governors to have arrived.

That the Governors be recommended to raise the sum
required for these purposes by the sale of the whole or part
of the funded property now in their hands, and by borrowing
such further sum as may be necessary on the security of the
unincumbered portion of the tithe rent chaiges belonging to
the School

That the two houses which it is proposed that the Governors
should build be assigned to the Head Master and Second
Master respectively. That no rent be charged for them ; but
that in lieu of rent a capitation chaige of 3/. be made for each

440 The Great Schools of England,

boarder on the annual average number of boarders. That any
of the other Masters (whether classical or not) be at liberty to
open boarding houses on their own account, with the permis-
sion in each case of the Governors, and under regulations to
be made by them, and that they be subject to the same capita-
tion charge of 3/. per boarder. The capitation fee to be paid
into the Tuition Fund.

That immediate steps be taken for the appointment of a
Master in Natural Science, to be at once employed in the
instruction of the Non-collegiate Class.

That the fees charged to the "Non-collegiate" Class be
equal to those charged to the rest of the School.

That no boy be allowed to join the " Non-collegiate *' Class
except either on his first admission to the School or after he
has reached the Fifth Form. In the latter case provision should
be made upon the same principles as at other schools for allowing
boys either to discontinue the higher kinds of composition only,
or to discontinue Greek and original composition altogether.

That in order to prevent the " Non-collegiate " Class becom-
ing a refuge for the idle, there should be a stringent system of
examinations especially adapted for it, and that the attention
of the Head Master and School Council be directed to its
division into forms, and that rules be laid down for the removal
of boys who fail to proceed from form to form with reasonable
rapidity.

That prizes be established for the various subjects of study
in the "Non-collegiate" School, but that these prizes be open
to the competition of the whole School.

That as soon as the funds admit, a certain number of Free
Studentships be founded in the " Non-collegiate " School, which
shall be disposed of by competitive examinations, in which due
weight shall be given to all the studies of the " Non-collegiate"
boys.

That an entrance examination be imposed for the ** Non-
collegiate" Class, which shall require the boy to be able to read
and write well, and to be fairly instructed in the elements of
Arithmetic

Shrewsbury. 441

That the lowest age for admission into the School be 9 years,
and the highest 14 years, and that no boy remain in the School
after 19.

That the Governors should annually appoint Examiners not
immediately connected with the School, to examine the whole
School, and to report thereupon to the Governors, and that
the selection of the Exhibitioners for the year be made by the
Examiners,

442 ^^ Great Schools of England.

\

CHRIST'S HOSPITAL.

CHAPTER I.— HISTORICAL.

" Within this cloistered calm retreat,
Where sacred Science loves to fix her seat,
How did their moments tranquil wing their flight
In elegant delight !

Here now they smil'd o'er Terence comic page,
Or held high converse with th' Athenian sage ;
Now listen'd to the buskinM hero's strain ;
With tender Ovid loved, or wept o*er Hector slain.**

Christ's Hospital, popularly known as the f Bluecoat School^
from the dress of the boys brought up ther^is one 'of tne iive
\ Royal hospitals of the City of London — St. Bartholomew,
Bethlehem, Christ's, Bridewell, and St Thomas. The three last
named were founded by EdwardVI., who was moved thereto,
as history tells us, by a noble sermon on " Charity," which
Bishop Ridley preached before him at Westminster, and were
intended by the benevolent young king to provide a suitable
asylum for each of the three classes into which the pauperism
of the metropolis had been divided — that is to say, i. The
poor by impotency, such as young fatherless children. 2. The
poor by casualty, as the maimed, the sick, and the diseased.
3. The thriftless poor, whom idleness and vice had reduced to
indigence and want.

Christ's Hospital, for the purposes of which the buildings and
site of the famous Grey Friars' Monastery were appropriated,
was dedicated to the first class ; St. Thomas's to the second ;
and Bridewell, an ancient palace of the Crown, was set apart
for the third.

m*

I

Chrises HospUaL 443

Proper accommodation having been furnished, and liberal
contributions having been supplied, by the citizens for their
support, a Charter was prepared under the Great Seal, by
which it was ordained that *' the hospitals aforesaid, when they
shall be founded, erected, and established, shall be named and
called the Hospitals of Edward the Sixth, King of England, of
Christ, Bridewell, and St. Thomas the Apostle ; and the Mayor,
commonalty, and citizens of the City of London, and their
successors, shall be called Governors of the said Hospitals."

The Charter included the grant of the Palace of Bridewell
and of certain lands, tenements, and revenues of the annual value
of about 450/. belonging to the Hospital of the Savoy, lately
dissolved, together with a licence to take lands in mortmain, or
otherwise, to the yearly amount of 4,000 marks for the main-
tenance of these Foundations, ^^n connexion with this last
endowment, an incident is related by Stow, which is touchingly \
characteristic of the amiable young prince to whom we owe these
charities. A blank had been left in the patent for the sum
which His Majesty should be pleased to grant. " He, looking
on the void place, called for pen and ink, and with his own
hand wrote this sum, '4,000 marks by the year ;* and then said,
in the hearing of his council, * Lord^ I yield thee most hearty 1
I thanks that thou hast given me life thus long^ to finish this work j
/ to the glory of thy name' " ^

Edward lived but a month after signing the Charter of Incor-
poration of the Royal hospitals ; but the citizens had proceeded
so energetically with the repairs of the old conventual edifice
which at first formed Christ's Hospital, that no less than 340
poor children who had been admitted went up with the Cor-
poration to the King's palace, and received the Charter shortly
after it had been signed.^ Although the three hospitals men-
tioned had each of them a distinct object, their revenues were
derived at first from a common fund, and their expenditure
was directed by one corporation. It is, perhaps, impossible
now to determine when the manors and estates named in the

* There is a fine picture attributed to Holbein in the Hall of Christ*s
Hospital, which represents this presentation.

,/

444 ^^ Great Schools of England.

Charter of Edward VI. ceased to be possessed by the three
establishments in common, or to ascertain the time at which
they became three distinct corporations, united with, but inde-
pendent of, the Corporation of London. Their separation
from each other in the first instance, arose from the necessity
of appointing distinct boards, or courts of governors, in order
to carry out effectually the several purposes of the Charter; and
this separation, originally only a matter of convenience, becanae
subsequently indispensable by the gifts of lands and the bequest
of legacies to one or other of the hospitals, as the donor was
more or less impressed with their respective utility.^

Before the Foundation of Christ's Hospital, four Grammar
Schools, established by Henry VI. in different parts of Ix>ndon,
together with the Schools attached to collegiate churches, were
the only provision for education within the City walls. St. Paul's
School, indeed, had been founded and competently endowed
by Dean Colet, in 15 12, and had acquired a well-deserved
reputation, but the number of pupils was limited to 153. It
was natural, therefore, that the new Foundation should be
looked upon with pride, and be supported with spirit by the
citizens of the metropolis. Stow tells us that on the Christmas-
day immediately succeeding the opening of the School, the
children lined the City procession from the end of St. Lawrence
Lane, " in Cheape," to St PauFs. Their dress at that time
was of russet cotton ; but on the Easter following, when they
were present at St Mary Spital, where three sermons were

1 One of the earliest and most interesting contributions to Christ's
Hospital was that made by Richard CasteUer, a shoemaker, which Stow thus
describes: — "This Hospital being thus erected and put in good order,
there was one Richard Castell, alias Casteller, shoemaker, dwelling in
Westminster, a man of great travaile and labour in his faculty with his
owne hands, and such a one as was named the cockeof Westmi*\^t^^ h<*rfln<M>
both winter and summer he was at his worke before foure of the clock in
the morning. This man thus truly and painfully labouring for his liueving,
God blessed and increased his labours so abundantly, that he purchased
lands and tenements in Westminster to the yearly value of fortie and four
pounds. And having no child, with the consent of his wife (who sur\'ived
him, and was a virtuous good woman), gave the same lands wholly to
Christ's Hospital aforesayd.**

Chrisfs HospitaL 445

annually preached in Easter week, they were habited in the
costume by which they have been ever since distinguished.
This peculiar garb consists of a long blue coat, reaching to the
ankles, and girt about the waist with a leather strap ; a yellow
cassock, or petticoat, now worn under the coat only during
winter, though originally an inseparable appendage throughout
the year, and stockings of yellow worsted. A pair of white
bands round the neck are a compromise for the rigid ruff, or
collar, which of old was a part of the dress of all ranks except
the lowest ; and the black cap, now no longer worn, upon the
smallness of which the '* Blues " once piqued themselves as a
peculiar distinction of the school, was a vestige of the cap of
larger dimensions worn by citizens at the period of the founda-
tion. There is an old tradition still cherished with pardonable
vanity by the boys, that their antique, and, we should fear,
uncomfortable drugget-gown was once of blue velvet, fastened
with silver buttons, and an exact facsimile of the ordinary habit
of their Royal founder ! ^

The efforts of the Governors to popularise the new School
were speedily rewarded. Donations poured in from many
quarters, and several benevolent persons interested themselves
in the improvement of the buildings, and in the better accom-
modation of the children. Not satisfied, however, with obtain-
ing the assistance of the public, the Governors of the Hospital
subscribed liberally among themselves for the maintenance of
the establishment. By an Act of Common Council, so early
as the reign of Richard II. it had been ordained that all
woollen cloth brought for sale to London should be first lodged,
under severe penalties for default, in the market of Blackwell
Hall. Shortly afler the Foundation of Christ's Hospital, it
happened that the entire management of this market was vested
in the Governors, and they resolved to apply the whole pro-
ceeds of the monopoly towards the support of the HospitaL

In the year 1554, an Act of Common Council was passed
prohibiting, under heavy penalties, the prevailing desecration
of St. Paul's Cathedral ; and another for limiting^ in the same

1 Trollope's History of Chrisfs Hospital

Di

446 TAe Great Schools of En^and.

manner, the cost of civic entertainments ; and in both cases it
was ordered that '^ one moiety of such pains and penalties "
should go to Christ's Hospital Collections for supporting^ the
School were also made every month in the various civic wards
by order of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, and boxes were
set up in the cloisters to receive the contributions of the
charitable.^

During the first few years of the SchooFs existence, it was
necessary, when a child was presented for admission, for his
friends to have a certificate signed by the Aldennan of the
Ward, or his deputy, and by at least six of the most substantial
residents of the parish, that the child was above four years of
age, and bom in wedlock ; and that his father was a freeman,
destitute of the means of supporting his family. It was further
provided "that the ordinance touching the admittinge of
children be not broken, except in cases of extremitye, where
loss of liffe and perishinge would presentlye foUowe, if they be
not receaved into the said HospitalL" As regarded the edu-
cation and apprenticeship of those admitted, it was ordered
that, being " men-children," they should write, and read, and
cast accounts ; but such as were found "very apt to leaminge"
were to be kept in the School " in hope of preferrment to the
Universitie." When put out as apprentices, it was imperative
upon the Treasurer, acting with another of the Governors, to
ascertain that those to whom the children were bound were
honest, well-to-do persons, and capable of teaching them some
useful occupation.

There were, then, evidently, two classes of children eligible
for the protection of the charity, namely, those of poor freemen,
necessarily not under four years of age ; and certain others
who were admitted in the exigence of "present perishing.*'
Between those two classes the line of demarcation is said to be
distinctly traced in the early record of the institution.

In 1566, the number of both classes amounted to 400, which

1 Two of Uiese boxes were still standing in the cloisters in 1834, with an
inscription over each : — **This is Christ's Hospital, where poor blue-coat
boys are harboured and educated."

Christ^s Hospital. 447

the Court Book divides into 250 who were to " lodge and learn,"
and 150 "sucking children,"

Even thus early, Christ's Hospital appears to have attained
a respectable position among the metropolitan Schools. Speak-
ing of 1555, Stow tells that during that year, **0n Bartholomew
even, after the Lord Maior and Aldermen of London had
ridden about St Bartholomew's faire, they came to Christ's
Hospital, within Newgate, where they heard a disputation
between y« scholers of Pauls Schoole, St. Anthonies Schoole
and the scholers of y^ said hospitall ; for whom was provided
3 games, which was 3 pens. The best penne of silver and gilt,
valued at ss. woon by a scholer of St. Anthonies Schoole, and
the master of that schoole had 6s, 8 pence ; the second a pen
of silver parcell gilt, valued at 4J. woon by a scholer of Faules
Schoole, and his master had 5^. in money ; y« third a pen of
silver, valued at 35. woon by a scholer of y« said [Christ's]
hospitell, and his master had 45. ; and there were 2 priests,
masters of Art, appointed for judges, which had each of them
a silver rule for their paines, valued at 6 shillings eight pence
the peece. The disputation being ended, the Maior and Alder-
men entered the hall where the children of the Hospital use to
dine, and had fruit and wine, and so departed." ^

From 1553 to 1600 the donations and bequests to the
Foundation, which were principally bestowed by Governors,
amounted to 9,828/. and the estates settled on it only to a
small annual sum. As out of these revenues, 400 children
were maintained and educated, and many poor relieved, it is
not surprising that a time arrived when it became necessary to
diminish the number of the Hospital's inmates and pensioners.
In 1592 and in 1595 the deficiency of funds compelled the
Governors to apply to the City for relief. The application
was unsuccessful, and by 1597 the expenditure had so far
exceeded the incomings that the institution was found to
l>e 800/. in debt Shortly afterwards, the finances continuing
in an embarrassed state, the Lord Mayor appointed an inquiry
into the state of the parish collections, and gave directions

^ StoVs Annals, 2 Eliz. c. 27.

448

The Great Schools of England.

for their being resumed, ordering at the same time that
every child presented for admission, and every petitioner
for relief, should produce a certificate from the parish of the
urgency of the case.^ The result of these and other measures
for lessening the pressure upon the Hospital, together with
the aid of many timely benefactions, was that the establish-
ment surmounted all its difficulties. A main assistant in
this happy consummation was Lady Mary Ramsey, widow of
Sir Thomas Ramsey, Lord Mayor of London in 1577, and
sometime President of the Hospital. By her will, dated the
19th of January, 1596, this munificent woman bequeathed to
the charity estates, then worth 400/. per annum (now producing
more than 4,000/. a year), besides the advowsons of five livings.
Moreover, by a codicil dated July 8, 1601, she added a bequest
of 2,000/, to be laid out in the purchase of land, tenements, &c.
of the annual value of 100/. from the rents of which she directed
a certain amount to be distributed among the poor of four
parishes in London, and 2/. to be paid for two sermons to be
preached in Christ Church annually. The Governors also pay
from her bequests 40/. a year towards the support of two Fel-
lows and four Scholars at St. Peter's College, Cambridge. Nor
do the obligations of the Hospital to this noble benefactress
cease here. As she directed in her will that a portion of the
proceeds of her estates should be applied to the maintenance
of Scholars educated at Christ's Hospital, during their residence
at the University, to her is due the honour of having laid the
foundation for whatever academical preferment the "Blues"
have obtained from time to time at Cambridge.*

As the finances of the Hospital improved, its charities were
enlarged. In Camden's time there were 600 children main-

\

I

* Hu/ory of Christ's Hospital,

' Lady Ramsey expressed an intention to give 500/. per annum to this
coll^;e on condition of its being called the college of " Peter and Mary."
The gift, however, was refused by the Master, Dr. Soames, with the
remark that " Peter, who so long lived single, was now too old to have
a feminine partner." *'A dear jest,*' says Fuller, "to lose so good a
benefactress."

BB|^PRM^Ma4pi«BB^P^V«BVW^^^^«^B«ipipV^^«^P^^«lPMii^BV^^H^^^^">">""'-P"^V>^^S..^

Chrisfs Hospital. 449

tained and educated, and 1,240 pensioners received relief in
alms; and at three different periods in the year 1655 the
number of the former was 900, 980, and 1,120 respectively.^
At the same time weekly allowances were made for nursing a
large portion of the younger children in various parts of the
City. A seminary was also established at Hertford, and another
&t Ware, with accommodation for a master and 140 boys.

A few years later, a project was suggested by Sir Robert
Clayton, one of the Governors, which seemed calculated to
augment the utility of the institution considerably. This was
the establishment of a Mathematical School in connexion with
the Hospital. The project was wannly received by the most
eminent of the Governors — Sir Jonas Moore, Sir Christopher
Wren, Sir Charles Scarborough, and Samuel Pepys, and by
their exertions, and the favour of the Duke of York (afterwards
James II.), a Royal Charter was obtained, and the School
opened under the auspices of Charles 11. in 1673.

For the endowment of this School the King undertook to
pay an annuity of 1,000/. terminable in seven years ; to which
he subsequently added a yearly grant of 370/. lox. payable at
the Exchequer, for the apprenticing the boys to merchantmen.
This was not a very munificent endowment, but the deficiencies
in Royal patronage were amply compensated from other sources.

Among the most conspicuous donors to this Foundation was
Mr. Henry Stone, one of the Governors, who gave during his
life the annual simi of 57/. 6j. M, " for the better maintenance
and education of the children on King Charles's foundation,
or increasing of their number," and who by will left the main
bulk of his property to the Hospital, with a provision that at
least 50/. should be set apart for the support of the Mathema-
tical School. Another benefactor, Samuel Travers, Esq. gave
the residue of his estate to the Hospital for the purpose of
establishing a school for the education of as many sons of
lieutenants in the navy as the proceeds would support ; and
this School has been united with the Royal Mathematical
School, to which it is to a certain extent preparatoiy.

History of Chrisfs HospHal,
G6

iPW

450 The Great Schools of En^and,

For some years after the establishment of the new School,
the gentlemen who had been instrumental in its creation took
a lively interest in its welfare. Mr. Pepys constantly attended
the examination of the boys, and Sir Jonas Moore^ one of the
first practical Mathematicians of the day, undertook the com-
pilation of a complete system of Mathematics for the use of the
School.

Upon the deaths of the two Masters first appointed, Dr.
Leake and Mr. Perkins, the instruction of the boys fell into
very inefficient hands ; so much so, that when Mr. Pepys, who
had been absent from the examinations for some time, was
again present, the ignorance of the bo3rs drew from him a
severe remonstrance against their Masters.

Having been appointed Treasurer, an office which he soon
afterwards exchanged for that of Vice-President, this very able
man determined upon a complete reformation of the School,
and notwithstanding every expedient which interested ingenuity
could devise was employed to thwart his labours, he never
rested till he had carried his scheme of improvement into
operation. Among other measures, after reducing the general
mismanagement to order, Mr. Pepys separated the boys of what
was called the King's School from those on Mr. Stone's Foun-
dation. The former, named "King's boys," were limited to
forty in number, while the children admitted on the Stone Gift
consisted of twelve boys, and formed a preparatoiy class from
which the King's School could be supplied as vacancies oc-
curred.

Until a very recent period the " King's bo)rs" were domiciled
entirely apart from the other inmates of the Hospital, in what
was named the "King's Ward.'* This separation begot a
sense of superiority and exclusiveness among them which soon
displayed itself in a haughty and supercilious treatment of the
other boys ; and as the greater age at which they left School
(twenty-one years) gave them a physical superiority over their
younger brethren who left at fifteen, this temper broke out
into acts of oppression which it was absolutely necessary to
resist. Opposition to their tyranny, however, rendered them

Christ's Hospital. 45 1

furious, and for many years they continued to be the terror of
the School. At last, in 1775, a Master of the Mathematical
School was found in Mr. William Wales, who did much to curb
the intolerable wilfulness of the young upstarts. At the begin-
ning of his duties he had to battle terribly for the mastery, but
he achieved it, and under his judicious but inflexible discipline,
the spirit of insubordination which had so long been rampant
was efifectually subdued.^

The improvement effected in the discipline of the '' King's
Ward" was insufficient, notwithstanding, to lessen the assumed
superiority of these boys over the others.^ They lyere no longer
the tyrannous oppressors of former days, but they claimed, and
often obtained, a degree of deference from their younger com-
rades. As they were not permitted, however, to continue at
school beyond the age of sixteen, their advantage over the
other boys was greatly reduced, so that it not unfrequently hap-
pened that the elder ones among the latter successfully resisted
their impertinences. Hence conflicts, sometimes of a serious
nature, occurred, and at last it was deemed expedient to put
an end to these collisions by dissolving the union of the exclu-
sives; and the King's boys, though still distinguished by a
Royal badge, were dispersed among the other wards.

From the ravages of the Plague in 1665, Christ's Hospital
was comparatively exempt, but the ancient buildings which
it occupied were seriously damaged by the Great Fire ; and
although the efforts of the citizens enabled the Governors to
restore that part of the edifice which was less injured so as to
furnish a temporary accommodation for the children, the calls
upon public and private bounty were so numerous and pressing
at the time that a perfect restitution was for the moment
impracticable. In 1675, ^^ Robert Clayton, whom we have

1 He was a practical sailor, of plain, simple manners, with a huge person.
Leigh Hunt tells us that, when in Otaheite with Captain Cook, the natives
played Wales a trick while bathing and stole his Jimz/Adothes, a liberty
which, whenever he related the story, the boys decided to be incredible.

* It was an etiquette among them never to move out of a right line as they
walked, and if a minor boy stood in the way to stride him down as if uncon-
scious that such inferior creatures existed.

G G 2

imm^

452 Tk€ Great Schools of En^and,

mentioned as the leading promoter of the Mathematical School,
nobly determined to rebuild the fallen structure. An estimate
was accordingly obtained, and the work begun under the super-
intendence of Sir Christopher Wren, Mr. Morrice, the partner
of Sir Robert, having engaged to bear half the cost

As the building proceeded, curiosity was exerted in vain to
discover the benefactor by whose liberality the long-n^lected
fabric was undergoing restoration, Sir Robert having laid a
strict injunction of secrecy upon Mr. Finhin, the Mend to
whom he had entrusted the undertaking. In the meantime,
improvements^ which had the effect of nearly doubling the
amount of the original estimate, were introduced, the entire
payment of which, owing to the death of Mr. Morrice, devolved
upon Sir Robert Upon the completion of the work, Sir Robert
Clayton, having become an object of public indignation on
political grounds, was ejected firom the councils of the City
and from the government of the Hospital. Under these cir-
cumstances, Mr. Firmin thought himself no longer bound to
keep the secret, but regarded it as a duty to place the character
of so true a patriot in its proper light The pious act was
accordingly divulged, and the memorial of Sir Robert's muni-
ficence is now recorded beneath the statue of the youthful
founder in a niche above the south gateway.

The example set by Sir Robert Clayton was soon followed.
In 1680 a survey was taken of the Great Hall. It was found
to be so irreparably dilapidated that Sir John Frederic, Kt,
then President of the Hospital, ordered it to be rebuilt, and
agreed to take the cost of the erection (upwards of 5,000/.)
upon himself.

The Hall, as rebuilt by Sir Frederick, largely exceeded the
ancient building in size. It was a noble edifice, 130 feet in
length, 30 feet in width, and 44 feet in height ; with a magni-
ficent arched window at the southern end, and five of smaller
span along the east side.

Shortly after the erection of this building, the attention of
the Governors having been repeatedly directed to the in-
adequate accommodation in the branch establishments at Ware

Chrisfs Hospital, 453

and Broxboume, the foundation of a suitable house for the
reception of the younger children was laid in the town of
Hertford, but some years elapsed before it was completed

In 1694, the then President of the Hospital, Sir John Moore,
undertook to erect, at his own expense, a Writing School,
capable of holding 500 boys. The room was begun in the
same year, under the superintendence of Sir Christopher Wren,
on a space adjoining the Hall, and was opened with much
pomp, on the loth of April, 1695.^ In 1705, Sir Francis
Child rebuilt the ward over the eastern cloister ; and in 1730,
two additional wards were built by J. Bacon, Esq.

In 1754, a bequest was left to the charity by James St.
Amand, Esq., consisting of a miniature portrait of his grand-
father, John St. Amand, Esq., together with the residue of his
estate, amounting to above 8,000/., under the remarkable
conditions that the Treasurer shall give a receipt to his
executors, and a promise never to alienate the picture ; and as
often as a change of Treasurer takes place, every new Treasurer
shall send a written receipt and promise, to the same efifect, to
the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford. In case of the non-produc-
tion of the picture to the party sent annually by the Vioe-
Chancellor of Oxford, the bequest became forfeited to the
University of Oxford, to be applied to the augmentation of the
salary of the chief and of the second Bodleian Librarian, and
to the purchase of manuscripts and good editions of classic
authors.

^ On the 27th of September in the same year an incident occurred strik-
ingly indicative of the interest taken in this popular charity. Two wealthy
citizens, dying, left their estates one to a Bluecoat boy and the other to
a Bluecoat girl. Such was the sensation excited by the event, that a match
was brought about between the youthful legatees, and they were publicly
married at Guildhall Chapel. The bridegroom, dressed in a coat of blue
' satin, was conducted thither by two of the girls ; the bride, in a blue gown
and green apron, by two of the boys ; as they passed in procession along
Cheapside, headed by several of the Governors and followed by hundreds
of their schoolfellows, the spectacle is said to have been one of the most
joyous ever seen. After the ceremony, which was performed by the Dean
j of St. Paul's, the Lord Mayor giving away the bride, the party returned to
Ithe Hospital, where the wedding dinner was prepared in the Great HalL

wmmamm^^mssaem^mf^fm

454 7^ Great Schools of England,

In the beginning of 1803 the building was again surveyed,
and found to be in a ruinous state of decay. After much con-
sideration, it was concluded to appropriate a certain part of the
surplus revenue to the establishment of a fund for gradually
rebuilding the whole Hospital upon its present site rather than
continue the heavy expense which had been annually incurred
in keeping so old a structure in repair. But as the portion of
income that could be so devoted would, for years to come,
be insufficient to effect their object, they resolved on another
step. This was an appeal for public assistance. A subscrip-
tion was opened to aid the surplus revenue, and it was headed
by a donation of 1,000/. from the Corporation of London.
Splendid contributions soon, followed from the several Com-
panies, from individual Governors, and from the nobility and
the gentry ; and in due time the first stone of the stately pile
which has supplanted the ancient structure was laid, in 1825,
by the Duke of York. Four years later, on the 29th May,
1829, the ceremony of opening the new Hall took place.
Among the distinguished visitors on this occasion, were Prince
Leopold, the present King of the Belgians; the Dukes of
Norfolk and Devonshire, Marquis Camden, Earls Spencer,
Damley, Stamford, and Clarendon, Lord Althorp, Sir Francis
Freeling, Sir William Curtis, together with the Lord Mayor
and the chief Civic functionaries.

It has been seen that in the early days of its foundation
Christ's Hospital served both as a Grammar School and as an
asylum for those now called pauper children. From a rzsume
of the various accounts of the establishment,^ we find that
sixty years after it opened, children were presented for admis-
sion, some on the nomination of parishes, others at the request
of persons of influence.

Fifty years later it was resolved that no children should
enter but those of freemen. Frequent relaxations of this rule,
however, undoubtedly took place ; but it was not until 1745
that a Governor had the privilege, in every four turns, to pre-
sent a child whose parents were not free of the City of London.

^ Some Account of Christ s Hospital. By Archdeacon Hale.

Chris fs Hospital. 455

In 1765 the regulation in ficivour of non-free children was ex-
tended to one non-free child in three turns. In 1828 it was again
enlarged to one in two; and in 1839 the distinction between
free and non-free was totally abolished, the Hospital being
thenceforth open to all classes of children, without reference
to their connexion with the City. Although the Hospital has
of late years acquired the denomination of a public school, it
was looked upon, not more than sixty yeais ago, only as a
charity school of the highest class.

It sent to the University a scholar or two in the year, and
forty or fifty boys were taught Greek and Latin by the Upper
Grammar Master ; yet, with the four " Grecians," and the boys
of the first order in the Mathematical School who were educated
for the sea service, there were not twenty lads in the Hospital
above fifteen years of age.

llie education afforded to the mass (about i,poo in number)
was not much superior to that of the London Charity Schools.
The chief advantage derived to the parents was that of main-
tenance, theu: children being not only instructed, but fed,
clothed, and lodged, from seven to fifteen years of age. The
children, during the whole eight years of their being in the
establishment, were allowed the favour of going home to their
parents or friends only once for three weeks.^ The habits of

1 There can be no doubt that, at the period when Coleridge and Charles
^- Lamb were at Christ's Hospital, the care bestowed upon ttie heallE and
if , personal cleanliness of the boys was scandalously inefficient ; and that their
diet was miserable alike in quality and quantity. Apropos of this latter
point, Lamb has a capital stoiy. In those days he tells us, that, small as
was the amount of the children's rations, there was much which proved
uneatable to their young stomachs. The fat of the fresh-boiled beef| in
particular, which they called "gag," was uniyersally abhorred. " A gag-
eater," Lamb says, " was equivalent to a ghoule, and held in equal detes-
tation." One lad, however, was suspected of this depravity. He was
observed after dinner carefully to gather up the remnants left at his table, and
in an especial manner those disreputable morsels, which he would convey
away and secretly stow in the settle that stood at his bedside. None saw
when he ate them. It was rumoured that he privately devoured them in the
night He was watched, but no traces of such midnight practices were
discoverable. Some reported that on leave-day he had been seen to carry
V^ out

456 Tlh€ Great Schools ofEti^Umd.

children so secluded were necessarily peculiar. The Hospital
was to them not only their home but their world. Their diet
was most frugal. Their hours of rising and of going to bed
were regulated by the sun. Their duties were in many respects
of a menial character. Still, it was not an unhappy state of
society. Occasionally the evil dispositions of a few rendered
them a terror to their fellows, but, on the whole, the prevalent
feeling was that of quietism.

This picture is no longer applicable. The Governors, many
years since, foresaw the necessity of raising the standard of
instruction so that their youthful charges might be enabled to
compete with the younger branches of respectable society, in
whatever business or vocation they might be placed. An
Educational Committee was appointed to inquire into the
comparative merits of various systems, and in devising the

i out of the bounds a lai^e blue check handkerchief full of something. This,
> then, must be the accursed thing. Conjecture next was at work to imagine
• how he could dispose of it Some said he sold it to the beggais. This
belief generally prevailed. He went about moping. None spake to him.
No one would play with him. He was excommunicated ; put out of the
pale of the School. He was too powerful a boy to be beaten, but he
underwent every mode of that negative punishment which is more grievous
than many stripes. Still he persevered. At length he was observed by
two of his schoolfellows, who were determined to get at the secret and
' had traced him one leave-day for that purpose, to enter a large worn-out
I building, such as there exist specimens of in many streets which are let out
' to various scales of pauperism, with open door and a common staircase.
After him they silently slunk in, and followed by stealth up four flights,
and saw him tap at a poor wicket, which was opened by an aged woman
scantily clad. Suspicion was now ripened into certainty. The informers
.had secured their victim; they had him in their toils. Accusation was
tbrmally preferred, and retribution most signal was looked for. Mr.
Hathaway, the then Steward, with that patient sagacity which tempered
all his conduct, determined to investigate the matter before he proceeded to
sentence. It was then found that the supposed beggars, the receivers or

purchasers of the mysterious scraps, were the parents of (the boy), an

honest couple come to decay, whom this seasonable supply had, in all
probability, saved from mendicancy ; and that this young stork, at the
expense of his own good name, had all this while been only feeding the old
birds. The Governors on this occasion, much to their honour, voted a
present relief to the family, and presented the lad with a silver medal.

^«H^V9l«a«B9^^^H^i^^^iHV

Chris fs Hospital. 45 7

means whereby the advantage of a classical education, before
confined to a few of the most promising children of the
Hospital, could be extended to the whole number.

The result of their labours was the formation of a scheme of
instruction which combines classical knowledge with the know-
ledge most useful in mercantile life ; and this plan, modified
and improved by the experience of years, has been in operation
ever since. In 1856 considerable alterations were made in
the system of instruction, with the view of affording to every
boy a chance of making satisfactory progress in some branch
of his education. For this purpose, the study of French,
Mathematics, and Drawing, was extended to a lai^er number
of boys, and an additional Master in each of those branches
was appointed. At the same time, in the Classical Depart-
ment, a new subdivision was established, under the name of
" Latin School," to receive from the Lower School, boys over
thirteen and a half years of age, who have not succeeded in
gaining promotion to the Upper School, and to give them
instruction of a more general character, retaining the study of
Latin, but discontinuing that of Greek.

The improvements adopted for the nurture and comfort of
the children, of late years, appear to be not less striking than
those for their education. The external government of Christ's
Hospital is vested in the General Court of Governors, consist-
ing of about five hundred noblemen and gentlemen ; the in-
ternal economy of the house is managed by the President, the
Treasurer, and a Committee. The President is usually a
person of elevated station, and he presides at all Courts, which
he has power to summon from time to time, at his pleasure.
Though nominally at the head of the establishment, the Presi-
dent, in reality, is much inferior in authority to the Treasurer.
This officer receives, disburses, and accounts for all moneys
belonging to the institution, is chairman of all committees, and
in their proceedings his voice has more weight than that of any
one else. He acts in all respects as Resident Governor of the
Institution.

The Committee, at its full complement, consists of fifty

458 The Great Schools of England.

members. As a body they are known as the Committee of
Almoners^ and in this capacity they meet regularly on the
first Thursday of every month (except August) to superintend
the admission of children, and conduct the routine business of
the house. They are required also to examine into the state
of the Hospital in London and at Hertford, to attend the half-
yearly examinations of the several schools; to be present
sometimes at the meals in the Great Hall, in order to ascertain
that the provisions are good, and that due attention is paid to
the cleanly appearance of the children ; and, in like manner,
to inspect the several wards, and to guard against any neglect
of the nurses in providing for the comfort and cleanliness of
those under their care.

Besides, and under the control of these officers, are the
Receiver, whose chief duty is to assist the Treasurer in the dis-
bursement of the expenses ; the Wardrobe Keeper, who is charged
with the custody of the wearing apparel; the Warden, under
whose surveillance the children are placed during the time when
they are not occupied by their studies, whose business it is to
attend them at breakfast, dinner, and supper; to regulate
details as to holidays and leaves ; and to appoint the Monitors
of the Wards. The Steward, whose duties are to receive the
provisions and prepare a weekly account of all the articles
delivered in, consumed, or remaining.^ With the Warden's
charge that of the Matron is in some degree connected. She
meets him daily in the Hall at dinner and supper, when it is
her province to superintend the Nurses in their duties, and to

^ The duties now performed by the Warden, an officer of modem appoint-
\ ment, formerly appertained to the Steward, and Leigh Hunt, in his amusing
recollections of the School, tells of a ludicrous revenge the boys were in
the habit of indulging upon one of these functionaries who had rendered
himself obnoxious by his harshness. It was his business to preside over
the School in Church, for which purpose he sat aloof on a spot whence he
could see the whole flock. Whenever the parable of the Unjust Steward
was read, the boys waited anxiously till the passage commenced, and then,
as by a general conspiracy, at the words Thouunjus±^sit3Bard^ the whole
6cx> turned their eyes at once upon the unfortunate man, who sat, doubtless,
in an agony of rage, but to all appearance perfectly innocent of the appli-
cation.

Chrises Hospital, 459

see that the diet is sweet and wholesome, and properly dis-
tributed. Lastly come the Nurses, sixteen in number, who
preside over the wards, and are expected to devote their entire
attention to the health, comfort, and cleanliness of the forty or
fifty boys whom each has in her chaige.

The Buildings, — Of the ancient and interesting Grey Friars'
Priory, on a portion of the site of which Christ's Hospital
stands, the only fragment left is said to be part of the wall
belonging to the libraiy bestowed by the famous Whittington
on the Priory, in 142 1.

The principal entrance is in Newgate Street, opposite the
Great HalL There is another in Little Britain, through a hand-
some iron gateway, erected in 181 5. This opens into the
main area of the Hospital, still called the "Ditch," because the
great watercourse which surrounded the old wall of the City
still runs across it, and, arched over, now serves the purpose
of a drain or sewer, above twelve feet below the surface.

To the left hand, on entering, stands a commodious and
spacious house, which is the residence of the Treasurer.
Adjoining are the houses of the Head Master and the Matron.
At the back of the Treasurer's house, from which it is separated
by a small paved court, stands the Counting-house, which, with
the houses of the Chief Clerk, the Head French Master, and
the Receiver, forms the one side of Counting-fiouse Yard,

Through a lobby in the Counting-house, up a commodious
staircase, is reached the Court Room ; a spacious apartment,
with a vaulted roof, supported by four Doric columns, and lighted
by windows at the east end. Over the President's chair are
the Arms of England, behind which, in a panel, is a half-
length portrait of Edward VL by Holbein.

On one side of the Chair is a portrait of Charles II. by Sir
Peter Lely, on the other side a portrait of James II ; and
round the room are portraits of distinguished benefactors and
others connected witfi the charity.

The Great Hall, — The magnificent fabric erected from
designs of John Shaw, the architect, stands partly on the foun-
dations of the ancient refectory, and partly on the site of the

1/

460 27u Great Schools of England.

old City wall The style is pure Gothic, and the southern, or
principal front, is built of Portland stone, with cloisters of
Heytor granite running beneath a portion of the dining-halL
The building is supported by buttresses, and has an octagon
tower at each extremity. The summit is embattled, and oma-
mented with pinnacles, and nine large and handsome windows
occupy the entire front On the ground storey are the Gover-
nors' room, the Wardrobe, the Buttery, and other offices ; and
the basement story contains, besides cellars, &c., a spacious
kitchen, 69 feet long by 33 feet wide, supported by massive
granite pillars. The Hall itself, with its lobby and oigan-
gallery, occupies the entire upper storey, which is 187 feet long,
51 J feet wide, and 46 J feet high. It is approached by a prin-
cipal stone staircase at the east end; by two others in the
octagon towers, and by a fourth communicating with the
kitchen. At the east end there is a screen, along which runs
the legend, ^^Fear Gody love the Brotherhood^ honour the
King; " and a grained oak wainscoting lines the walls to the
height of 10 feet At the west end is a raised platform for the
Governors and their friends, during the public suppers and
other state occasions,^ over which are galleries for the accom-

^ The " public suppers " of Christ's Hospital have long been famous for
their impressive associations. They appear to have been nearly coeval with
the foundation, and to have varied in the ceremonial but little from that
time to the present day. Formerly they were held in the months of March,
April, and May. They now take place on the six Thursdays in Lent At
the appointed hour (seven in the evening), the double row of chandeliers
shedding a brilliant light throughout the Hall, the boys enter and seat them-
selves at their respective tables, each of which has its nuise. Then follow
the Lord Mayor, or President, Treasurer, and Governors, walking two by
two ; " the organ swells out its mighty welcome, the vast youthful assem-
blage stands up and joins in the psalm, which is led by the singing-boys
in the organ-gallery, and as it proceeds the chief personages take their seats
on the dais." Behind the Lord Mayor and the City authorities who accom-
pany him, are placed the visitors. Strangers are admitted into the western
gallery and into the body of the hall. After the supper the organ once
more thrills the listener with its glorious notes, and the boys sing one of
the beautiful anthems composed for such occasions. The whole of the
children, with the nurse at the head of each ward, then walk in procession,

Chrisfs Hospital, 461

modation of strangers. In this gallery is suspended the picture,
supposed to be by Holbein, which has been previously noticed,
and a great picture by Verrio, illustrative of Charles II. receiving
the children of the School at Court Below this picture is a
whole length of the same monarch, by Sir Peter Lely,^ and
between the windows are various portraits of eminent Governors
and patrons.

JTie Infirmary. — Immediately behind the Grand Hall is the
south front of the Infirmary, a substantial building erected in
1822. Though not remarkable for architectural beauty, it is

bowing to the Governors as they pass on, and take their departure slowly
through the distant doorway. Another celebration, not less interesting, of
which the Great Hall is the theatre, is the solemnity of St. MattheVs-day.
On the forenoon the Lord Mayor and Aldermen proceed in state to the
Hall, where the Governors of each of the Rojral hospitals meet them.
When all are seated, the children pass before them in couples, leading the
way to Christ Church. A sermon is there preached, usually by one of the
late scholars who has passed through the University upon one of its exhibi-
tions. The company then return to the Hall, where four orations are
delivered by the senior Grecians. These speeches are in Greek, Latin,
French, and English, their subject, the Sister Institutions. The orations are
followed by recitations of Greek and Latin verse composition, after which a
collection is made for the support of the speakers at the University. The
Chief Clerk then delivers to the Lord Mayor a list of those persons who have
been made Governors of the several hospitals during the preceding year,
and, upon the conclusion of certain forms, the court is dissolved, and the
company, having partaken of refreshments, go theur way.

^ Among the other pictures in the Hall is one by Copley, representing
the rescue of Sir Brooke Watson from the jaws of a shark, which so closely
pursued him while he was bathing in the West Indies that, though his
companions managed to drag him into the boat alive, the monster bit off
one of his legs. Watson subsequently succeeded in life, and became suffi-
ciently eminent to have his youthful misadventure ridiculed by the wits who
wrote TheRoUiad:—

*

" One moment's time might I presume to beg.
Cries modest Watson, on his wooden leg ;
/ That leg, in which such wondrous art is shown,
It almost seems to serve him like his own.
Oh 1 had the monster, who for breakfast ate
That luckless limb, his nobler noddle met.
The best of workmen, nor the best of wood.
Had scarce supplied him with a head so good."

mm^m^^^'^^ms^fm^

462 77t€ Great Schools of England.

well adapted for the purpose it has to serve, and is said to be
amply supplied with everything needful to the wants and com-
forts of its inmates.

The Writing School— The east end of the Hall Cloister
descends into a covered area, called the JVew CMsier, over
which is the Writing School, already mentioned as erected in
1694 by Su: J. Moore.

The Schools.^^These form an extensive range of buildings,
constructed of yellowish brick, with stone facings, in theTudof
style. A covered cloister runs along the front of the edifice,
beneath which are the entrances to the respective schools : the
Grammar occupying the western, and the Mathematical the
eastern division of the basement storey. The upper storeys
contain the Drawing School at the eastern end, three Wards,
or Dormitories, and a room for the Grecians, in which the
boys* Library is deposited.^

1 History of Chrises Hospital,

Christ's Hospital, 463

CHAPTER II.
THE SCHOOL.

Almost from the earliest period of its existence the education
afforded to a part of the boys was that of a Grammar School,
as is shown by the gifts of Lady Ramsey and others, towards
the end of the sixteenth centiuy, for the support of Scholars
proceeding to the Universities ; and the efficiency of the
system pursued as regards preparation for College was proved
by the academical distinction of the Scholars. The education
of the great mass of the boys, who, on leaving school, for the
most part, follow commercial pursuits, has constantly engaged
the attention of the Governors, and various modifications
and alterations have, on many occasions, been made therein.
Thus in 181 5 the whole School (except the classes of the
Upper Grammar School and Mathematical School, under the
immediate charge of the Head Masters of these departments
respectively) was formed into two equal divisions — one
division attending the Grammar School in the morning and
the Writing School in the afternoon — ^and vice versd for the
other division ; and various and minute regulations were made
for the due instruction of the boys, both in London and at
Hertford, in English reading, spelling, and grammar. Again,
in 1820, regulations were framed for the more efficient manage-
ment of the Lower Grammar School, and the promotion of
the boys from the several classes, and also to the Upper
Grammar School

In 1856, as was before mentioned, the whole system of educa-
tion was considered by a Sub-Committee specially appointed
for the purpose; and upon their recommendation many im-
portant improvements were made : the effect of which has

464 The Great Schools of England.

been, not only to maintain at its former standard the prepara-
tion of the intended University Scholars, but also, by discon-
tinuing some unnecessary studies and qualifications, by greatly
extending other branches of study hitherto confined to a few
boys, and by re-arranging the system of promotion, to afford
to every one of the main body of the boys a chance of making
satisfactory progress in at least some branch of his education
before he leaves at fifteen years of age.

The Lower Grammar School is divided into five classes,
forming three gradations : that is to say, at the bottom of the
School two parallel classes, above them two more classes, also
parallel, and above them again one class, which is the upper
class of this School ; from this the boys pass into one of two
separate Schools, to pursue either a classical or a general edu-
cation, the one School being the Upper Grammar School^ con-
taining the Grecians, Deputy Grecians, Great Erasmus, and
Little Erasmus ^ — ^the other School being the Latin School^ and
containing the Fiflh and Sixth Forms. No boy is allowed to
remain in the Lower Grammar School after 13J years of age ;
and unless he has by that time gained promotion to the Upper
Grammar School, he is removed to the Latin School.

The Grecians and Deputy Grecians attend the Grammar
School for three hours in both morning and afternoon of
every day, except on three half days in the week, when they
are receiving instruction in the Mathematical School. All other
boys attend the Grammar School for three hours on each day
of the week.

The School hitherto termed the " Writing School," is called
the English and Commercial School^ and is attended by all boys
below the Great Erasmus Class in the Grammar School (except
the first three Orders of the Mathematical School and those
boys who have made sufficient progress in Arithmetic to enter
upon Mathematics) the half of each day in four days of the
week. And instead of the whole of the time spent in this
School being devoted as formerly almost exclusively to instruc-

^ These classes were so named on account of the larger and smaller col-
loquies of Erasmus being formerly read in them respectively.

Christ's Hospital. 465

tion in Writing and Arithmetic, only half of that time is now
given to these subjects, and the other half to the study of the
English language, writing by dictation, English histoiy, and
modem geography.

The French School includes all the boys of the Upper
Grammar School, Latin School, Upper Form of the Lower
Grammar School, and first three Orders of the Royal Mathe-
matical School, numbering together about 500.

The Drawing School includes all boys attending the French
School (except the Grecian, Deputy Grecian, and Great Eras-
mus) in addition to all the boys of the Mathematical School.

Every boy attending the French and Drawing Schools
receives in each of these Schools two lessons of an hour and
a half in every week.

The boys who attend the Mathematical School are of three
distinct classes : ist. Boys of King Charles the Second's and
Mr. Stone's Foundation, 52 in number, destined for sea service,
besides occasionally 2 on Mr. Stock's Foundation, and i on
Lord Lanesboro's ; 2d. The Grecians and Deputy Grecians,
who are intended for the Universities, numbering about 65 ;
and 3d. The boys of the Great Erasmus, such boys of the
Little Erasmus as are sufficiently advanced in arithmetic, and
the remaining boys of the highest arithmetic class of the
Commercial School who are not comprehended in the classes
above mentioned, numbering together about 100. Of the
latter class 35 boys are distinguished as " Travers's Boys," in
order to comply with the will of that benefactor and the decree
in Chancery relating thereta

Under King Charles the Second's Charter ten boys were
annually to be presented at the Trinity House for examination
in a complete course of nautical instruction, and then placed
out apprentice to sea service for seven years — the last year
of the apprenticeship being reserved to His Majesty if the
same should be required. Within the last few years the
Governors have obtained a Supplemental Charter from Her
present Majesty dispensing with the obligatory apprenticeship,
and allowing the boys to be placed in any capacity either in

H H

466 The Great Schools of England.

the Royal Navy or any other sea-service. Under the provision
of this Charter many of the boys are now entering the Royal
Navy as naval cadets, or masters' or clerks' assistants, after
passing their examinations with much credit

The boys generally leave the Hospital at the age of 15 years,
but those who attain the rank of Deputy Grecian, and show
proficiency in their studies, are allowed to remain an extra year
to compete for a Grecianship. The Grecians are appointed on
the joint recommendation of the Upper Grammar Master and
the Head Mathematical Master. They are 25 in number, and
are divided into 3 " partings," viz. 5 Exhibitioners, 8 Second
Grecians, and 12 Probationary Grecians. At the end of their
first year the 12 Probationers are reduced to 8, who at the end
of a further year are again reduced to 5.

Exhibitions^ Rewards^ 6^c, — The Governors have at their
disposal large funds, under the bequests of Lady Ramsey.
Mr. Serjeant Moses (who was himself an Exhibitioner from the
Hospital) Mr. John Browne, and others, for Exhibitions at
Oxford and Cambridge. The most recent additions to the
Fund are the gifts of Mr. Alderman Thompson, the late Pre-
sident, who founded two Exhibitions in his lifetime and one
by will ; and of the late Mr. Henry Rowed, a Governor, who
also founded one of the same value as Mr. Thompson. On an
average, four Scholars are annually sent to Cambridge with an
Exhibition of 80/. a year, tenable for 4 years, and one to
Oxford with 100/. a year for the like period. Besides these
there are the "Pitt Club" Scholarship and the "Times" Scho-
larship, each of 30/. a year for 4 years, which are awarded by
competition to the best Scholar in Classics and Mathematics com-
bined, and held by him in addition to his general Exhibition.

Upon proceeding to the University each Grecian receives
an allowance of 20/. for books, 10/. for apparel, and 30/. for
caution money and settling fees.

Prizes of books differing in value according to the rank of the
class are awarded at the half-yearly examination to every class in
the School ; and there are besides the following special prizes :—

Monte^ore Prize, — Books to the value of 6/. lu. 3^. given

Chrisfs HospUal. 467

biennially (1. e, in the years when neither the Times or Pitt
Scholarship is given away) to the best proficient in Classics
and Mathematics combined.

Richard's Prize, — ^A gold medal, value 10/., and books
(3/. 4f. 8^.) annually, to the boy who is the author of the best
copy of Latin Hexameters, to be recited by such boy on St.
Matthew's Day.

Thompson Medals. — Two gold medals, value 8/. 8^. each,
annually to the two scholars who are the most proficient in
Classics and Mathematics respectively.

Vidal Prize, — Books, value 3/. 4^. 2^., half-yearly to the best
scholar of the boys in the Royal Mathematical School.

Gilpin Prize. — Books, value 3/. 2s, 2^., yearly to that one of
the Grecians in their second year of Grecianship, whose conduct
both in and out of School during the past year has been the
most correct and exemplary.

Unknown Governor^ Prizes, — Two prizes of books, each
value i/. I IX. \d, : viz. one to that Deputy Grecian, and the
other to that boy of the ist or 2d Order in the Royal Mathe-
matical School, whose conduct both in and out of School
during the past year has been most correct and exemplaiy.

Discipline^ HourSy 6rc, — At all times when not engaged with
their Masters in School, the boys are under the charge of the
« Warden."

In the summer they rise at 6, and play for an hour before
breakfast ; in the winter the hour of rising is 7. Breakfast
takes place at 8. There is then school from 9 to 12; and
afterwards play until i o'clock, which is the dinner hour.
Again there is school from 2 to 5, and again play till about 6,
when the bell rings for supper. In the winter time the boys go
to their wards direct from supper, but in the summer there is
an hour or two's play ; and after washing, the younger ones go
to bed, and the elders prepare lessons until a quarter to 10.
In each ward, besides the Under Matron, there is a Grecian
(and in some wards two) and two Monitors ; and the wards are
visited at uncertain periods by the Warden and by Masters.

HH 2

468 The Great Schools of En^nd.

All boys, except the Grecians and Monitors, make their own
beds and clean their shoes.

Two members of the Committee of Governors are appointed
for each month to visit the Schools, Wards, Hall, and every
part of the Hospital, at least twice during the month, to inquire
whether the Masters and others have any suggestions to offer
or complaints to make, to see that the food supplied to the
children is wholesome and well-dressed, and generally that all
persons in the Hospital are performing their duty, and to report
thereon to the Committee.

There is an excellent Library in London, containing about
3,000 volumes, and there is also a good Library at Hertford,
with an abundant supply of books suitable for the younger
boys.

Holidays^ &*c, — ^The only periods in the year at which boys
are allowed to sleep away from the Hospital are the Summer
and Christmas holidays. The summer holidays commence
about the isth July, and continue for five weeks; and the
Christmas begin about 21st December, and last for four
weeks.

There are ten days' holiday at Easter; and the second
Wednesday in every month is a " leave-day," when boys are at
liberty to visit their friends. Every Wednesday and Satiupday
afternoon is a half-holiday, which is spent within the walls,
except by a few deserving boys, to whom leave-tickets are given
by the Masters.

The following special days are also observed as holidays : the
Queen's Birthday, Ash Wednesday, Ascension-day, Founder's-
day (23d October), the President's Birthday (26th March), and
Queen Elizabeth's Accession (17 th November), when the Boys
attend church in the morning, and a sermon is preached, pur-
suant to the will of Mr. Barnes, an eminent benefactor.

On Monday and Tuesday in Easter week, the boys walk in

procession to the Mansion-house, each boy having on his left

\/ breast the legend, ^He^Ts jisen)" On the Monday they turn,

upon arriving at the Mansion-house, and form part of the civic

procession to Christ Church, where the Spital sermons are

mmammmmmmt^^^

Christ^s Hospital. 469

preached ; on Tuesday, before returning, they enter the Man-
sion-house, and are regaled with a glass of wine and two buns ;
and the Grecians receive a guinea, the Monitors half-a-crown,
and the other boys a shilling.

Religious Instruction is under the control and direction of the
Upper Grammar Master. Prayers are said, a chapter in the
Bible read by one of the Grecians, and a psalm sung on the
assembling of the boys in the Hall every morning; a short
portion of Scripture is read, with Grace, before every meal ;
and prayers and a lesson are read by a Monitor in every ward
before the boys retire to rest The Masters in the Grammar
School also give the boys regular religious instruction.

The boys in London attend Christ Chiu-ch on Sunday morn-
ing and afternoon ; and the Upper Grammar Master delivers
a lecture in the Hall every Sunday evening. At Hertford the
children attend All Saints Church.

Admission, — Forms for Admission on a Presentation can be
obtained on application at the Counting-House of Christ's
Hospital. The age of Candidates must be not under 7, and
not above 10.

Recreations, — ^At Hertford there is a laige field attached to
the Hospital, and the children there play at cricket and all
other games in which children delight In London, although
the space does not permit the playing cricket, foot-ball and
hockey are much indulged in, and in the past year an excellent
gymnasium has been erected, and a professor attends during
the summer to instruct the boys.

470

The Great Schools of England,

CHAPTER III.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

Masters of the Mathematical School from its FoundcUion,

1673. Jo^"* I-eake.

1775.

Waiiam Wales.

1679. Peter Perkins.

1799.

William Dawes.

168a Robert Wood.

1800.

Lawrence Gwynne

1682. Edward Pagett

1813.

Thomas Evans.

1695. Samuel Newton.

1819.

R. N. Adams.

1708. James Hodgson.

1826.

Edwin Coleman.

1754. John Robertson.

1827.

George Brookes.

1755. James Dodson.

1827.

WUliam Webster.

1757. Daniel Harris.

Upper Grammar Masters from the banning of the ktst century.

1700. Samuel Mountford.
1 7 19. Matthew Audley.
I7a5. Peter Selby.
1737. Seawell Heatherly.
1753. James Townley.
1760. Peter Whalley.

1776. James Boyer.i
1799. Arthur W. Trollopc
1826. John Greenwood.
1836. Edward Rice.
1853. George A. Jacob.

Although Christ's Hospital is, and has been from its founda-
tion, in the main a commercial seminary, the list of Bltus who

1 The Rev. James $^yer, and his colleague of the Under School, the
Rev. Matthew Feild, are immortalized by Charles Lamb in his reminis-
cences of Christ's HospitaL Boyer was the tutor of Coleridge, and one
of the ablest masters the School ever had, though the traditions of his
severity carry us back to the period of the Monastic Schools. '* He early
moulded my taste," says Coleridge, '* to the preference of Demosthenes to
Cicero, of Homer and Theocritus to Virgil, and again of Virgil to Ovid.
He habituated me to compare Lucretius, Terence, and, above all, the
chaster poems of Catullus, not only with the Roman poets of the (so-
called) silver and brazen ages, but with even those of the Augustan era ;
and on grounds of plain sense and universal logic, to see and assert the

Christ^ s HospitcU. 47 1

have acquired celebrity in what are called the " liberal pro-
fessions," would confer honour upon a School of much loftier

superiority of the former, in^he truth and nativeness both of their thoughts
and diction. At the same time that we were stud3ring the Greek tragic
poets, he made us read Shakespeare and Milton as lessons ; and they were
the lessons, too, which required most time and trouble to bring up, so as
to escape his censure/' Coleridge sums up his eulogium in words which
show that the remembrance of Boyer's stem discipline was at least as vivid
as that of his high tutorial qualifications: — '*The reader will, I trust,
excuse this tribute of recollection to a man whose severities, even now,
not seldom furnish the dreams by which the blind fancy would fain interpret
to the mind the painful sensation of distempered sleep.'* Leigh Hunt has
a good though disparaging account of Boyer, but the most graphic picture
of him is Charles Lamb's, '* Though sufficiently removed from the juris-
diction of Boyer, we were near enough to understand a little of his system.
We occasionally heard sounds of the Ululantesy and caught glances of
Tartarus. Boyer was a rabid pedant. His English style was crampt to
barbarism. His Easter anthems (for his duty obliged him to those perio-
dical flights) were grating as scrannel pipes. . . . He had two wigs, both
pedantic, but of different omen. The one serene, smiling, fresh-powdered,
betokening a mild day. The other an old, discoloured, unkempt, angry
caxon, denoting frequent and bloody execution. Woe to the School
when he made his appearance in Mv&passy^ tn passionate wig. No comet
expounded surer. J. Boyer had a heavy hand. I have known him double
his knotty fist at a poor trembling child (the maternal milk hardly dry upon
its lips) with a ' Sirrah, do you presume to set your wits at me ? ' . . .
In his gender moods, when the rabidus furor was assuaged, he had resort
to an ingenious method, peculiar, for what I have heard, to himself, of
whipping the boy and reading the Debates at the same time ; a paragraph
and a lash between, which in those times, when parliamentary oratory was
most at a height and flourishing in these realms, was not calculated to
impress the patient with a veneration for the diffuser graces of rhetoric.
Once, and but once, the uplifted rod was known to fall ineffectual from his

hand. When droll, squinting W having been caught putting the

inside of the master's desk to a use for which the architect had clearly not
designed it, to justify himself, with great simplicity averred, that he did not
hum the thing had been forewarned. This exquisite irrecognition of any
law antecedent to the oral or declaratory^ struck so irresistibly upon the
fancy of all who heard it (the pedagogue himself not excepted) that
remission was unavoidable." It is told of Coleridge, but we suspect the
saying was Lamb's, that when he heard of Boyer's death, he remarked it
was lucky that the cherubim who took him to heaven were nothing but
faces and wings, or he would infallibly have flogged them by the way.

/

472 ^The Great Schools of Et^nd,

pretensions. Notable among the earliest Scholars are the memo-
rable Jesuit Edmund Campion,^ a man whose unquestionable
piety and marvellous ability might well have saved him from a
horrible and shameful death; the great antiquary William
Camden, — though the fact of his admission is not satisfactorily
authentitated ;* Bishop Stillingfleet (according to the tes-
timony of Pepys) ; David Baker, the Ecclesiastical historian ;
John Vicars, a religious controversialist, of considerable learn-
ing and indefatigable energy, but whose fanaticism and intole-
ranee have obtained him an unenviable notoriety from the pen of
the 2}i^ox oiHudibras ;^ Joshua Barnes,* the Greek Scholar;

1 Hollingshed says of him that he "had won a marvellous good report
to be such a man as his like was not to be found for life, learning, or any
other quality that might beautify a man." Fuller bears testimony to the
sweetness of his disposition, the fascination of his manner, ** he was of
a sweet nature, constantly carrying about him the charms of a plausible
behaviour, of a fluent tongue, and good parts." And Wood, in his Atfunct^
speaks of him as a man of admirable parts, an eloquent orator, a subtle
disputant, an exact preacher, both in Latin and English, and a man of
excellent temper and address.

' Wood positively states that, ''when this most eminent person was
a child, he received the first knowledge of letters in Christ Church Hospital,
in London, then newly founded for blue-coated children, where being fitted
for grammar learning, he was sent to the Free School^ founded by Dr.
Colet, near to St Paul's Cathedral."

■ " Thou that with ale or viler liquors.

Didst inspire Withers^ Ptyn, and Vicars^
And force them, though it was in spite
Of Nature and their stars, — ^to write."
^ Few men ever acquired so much learning and made so unprofitable
a use of it as Joshua Barnes. His attainments, more especially in Greek,
were immense. Before he left school he had become an author to a con-
siderable extent ; having written five books of poems in Englbh, several
in Latin, and at least half a dozen tragedies in both Latin and Engitsh.
From Christ's Hospital he proceeded to Cambridge, and entered at
Enmianuel College in 1671. There he continued to prosecute his studies
with the same ardour and the same want of discrimination which he
exhibited throughout his career. In 1678 he was elected Fellow of his
College, having, in the intermediate time, produced a variety of essays and
poems chiefly in Greek, the very names of which are now forgotten, and in
1686 he took his degree of Bachelor of Divinity. During the next six

m»ti J J. csaiBVwau ■ , ^ r^^B-^H— ^H(-««v^asvBK=«ViVBvav^^«H^S^^M^i0aw

p^j-l

Chrisfs Hospitals 473

John Jurin, another Scholar of great eminence, and who was
elected President of the College of Physicians ; Jeremiah
Markland, a man of distinction both as Scholar and Critic ;
Richardson, the celebrated novelist; Bishop Middleton
ot Calcutta ;^ Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Robert
Allen.* *^^

years he devoted himself to his edition of Euripides, which was published
in 1694. On the death of Professor Pa3me, in 1695, he was appointed
Regius Professor of Greek. Not long afterwards he married a lady con-
siderably older than himself who possessed a comfortable competence, and
by the addition to his income thus afforded, he printed in the course of
a few years several of his works, and last of all his edition of Homer,

As the cost of this edition was very great, his wife, a woman of piety, is
said to have entertained some scruples as to the policy of embarking in
so expensive an undertaking, but Barnes overcame them by persuading her
that the author of the Iliad was King Solomon I

The speculation turned out a failure, and Joshua, having ventured in
it all his fortune, became greatly embarrassed. In this emergency he
was induced to write to the Prime Minister, Harley, supplicating some
preferment His career, however, was drawing to a close, and if it was
in contemplation to extend to him any mark of favour he did not live
to receive it. He died at Hemingford on the 3d of August, 17 12.

1 If Christ's Hospital is proud, as she may well be, of this exemplary
and most accomplished Prelate, he in turn was affectionately proud of
her. One of his latest acts, was the remitting 400/. from India to enable
him to become a Governor of his old School, in doing which, he wrote to
a friend : — "It would be unnatural in me not to have a warm interest in
that Institution ; the source^ perhaps, of greater good upon the whole,
than any other school in England. I have sent the requbite donation
to entitle me to become a governor; and I bless God that I have been
enabled to do somewhat towards the repayment of so vast a debt" At the
dame time, when enclosing a bill for the sum required, he wrote to another
friend : — " I have to request that you will take an early opportunity of
waiting upon the Treasurer of Christ's Hospital with the enclosed, being
the amount of my donation to the noblest institution in the world, and an
imperfect acknowledgment of what I owe to it, as the instrument of
a merciful Providence. "

* Allen the Grecian — "Allen with the cordial smile and still more
f cordial laugh," was singularly handsome, and the Blues used to tell of
^ his running against a barrow-woman in the street, who at first burst out,

'Where are you driving to, you great hulking, good-for-nothing * and

S then, stopping for a moment, and seeing his winning face as he turned to
. apologize, added, — 'beautiful fellow, God bless you I'

it»»

474 . ^^ Great Schools o/En^and,

In the present century Christ's Hospital can boast of Thomas
Mitchell, the well-known translator oi Aristophanes ; William
Henry Neale, Master of Beverley School ; Leigh Hunt,*

1 Leigh Hunt gossips very pleasantly about the customs and people of the
Hospital in his time. ''Our routine of life was this : — We rose to the call
of a bell, at six in summer, and seven in winter; and after combing our-
selves, and washing our hands and faces, went at the call of another beU
to breakfast All this took up about an hour. From break£ist we pro-
ceeded to School, where we remained till eleven, winter and summer, and
then had an hour's play. Dinner took place at twelve. Afterwards was
a little play till one, when we again went to School, and remained till
five in summer and four in winter. At six was the supper. We used
to play after it in sunmier till eight. In winter, we proceeded &om supper
to bed."

"The Under Grammar Master, in my time, was the Rev. Mr. Field.
He was a good-looking man, very gentlemanly, and always dressed at
the neatest I believe he once wrote a play. He had the reputation of
being admired by the ladies. A man of more handsome incompetence
for his situation perhaps did not exist He came late of a morning ; went
away soon in the afternoon; and used to walk up and down languidly,
bearing his cane as if it were a lily, and hearing our eternal Zhminuses
and As in prcssentis^ with an air of ineffable endurance. Ofben he did not
hear at all. It was a joke with us, when any of our friends came to
the door, and we asked his permission to go to them, to address him
with some preposterous question wide of the mark ; to which he used to
assent. We would say, for instance, 'Are you not a great fool, sir?' or,
'Isn't your daughter a pretty girl?' to which he would reply, 'Yes,
child.' When he condescended to hit us with the cane, he made a fuce
as if he were taking a dose of physic."

" Perhaps there is not a foundation in the country so truly English,
taking that word to mean what Englishmen wish it to mean — ^something
solid, unpretending, and free to all. More boys are to be found in it who
issue from a greater variety of ranks, than in any school in the kingdom ;
and as it is the most various, so it is the largest of all the Free Schools.
Nobility do not go there except as boarders. Now and then a boy of
noble family may be met with, and he is reckoned an interloper and against
the charter; but the sons of poor gentry, and London citizens, abotmd;
and with them an equal share is given to the sons of tradesmen of the very
humblest description, not omitting servants. I would not take my oath —
but I have a strong recollection, that in my time there were two boys, one
of whom went up into the drawing-room to his father, the master of the
house ; and the other down into the kitchen to his fiather, the coachman.
One thing however I know to be certain, and it is the noblest of all.

Christ's Hospital, 47 5

Charles Lamb;^ George Dyer;^ James White j^ James

namely, that the boys themselves (at least it was so in my time), had no
sort of feeling of the difference of one another's ranks out of doors. The
cleverest boy was the noblest let his father be who he might Christ's
Hospital is a nursery of tradesmen, of merchants, of naval ofBcers, of
scholars ; it has produced some of the greatest ornaments of their time ;
and the feeling among the boys themselves is, that it is a medium between
the patrician pretension of such schools as Eton and Westminster and
the plebeian submission of the Charity Schools."

When Leigh Hunt was at Christ^s Hospital, in his ward, "which was
the only one that the Company at the public suppers were in the habit
of going into, there prevailed a foolish custom of hanging up, by the side
of each bed, a clean white napkin, which was supposed to be the one used
by the occupiers. Now these napkins were only for show, the real towels
being of the largest and coarsest kind. If the masters had been asked
about them, they would doubtless have told the truth ; perhaps, the nurses
would have done so. But the boys were not aware of this. There they
saw those ^ white lies* hanging before them a conscious imposition, and
I well remember,'' adds the reminiscent, "how alarmed I used to feel
lest any of the Company should direct their inquiries to me."

^ Elia, inimitable Elia, entered Christ's Hospital in 1782. " Small of
stature," Talfourd says, "delicate of frame, and constitutionally nervous
and timid, he would seem unfitted to encounter the discipline of a School
formed to restrain some hundreds of iads in the heart of the metropolis, or
to fight his way among them. But the sweetness of his disposition won
him favour from all ; and although the antique peculiarities of the School
tinged his opening imagination, they did not sadden his childhood."

Lamb's description of his first entering Christ's Hospital is peculiarly
interesting. " I was a hypochondriac lad ; and the sight of a boy in fetters,

I upon the day of my first putting on the blue clothes, was not exactly fitted
to assuage the natural terrors of initiation. I was of tender years, barely
turned of seven ; and had only read of such things in books, or seen them

I but in dreams. I was told he had run away. This was the punishment
for the first offence. As a novice I was soon after taken to see the dun-

\ geons. These were little square, Bedlam cells, where a boy could just
lie at his length upon straw and a blanket — a mattress, I think, was after-

I wards substituted — with a peep of light, let in askance, finom a prison

I orifice at top, barely enough to read by. Here the poor boy was locked

' in by himself all day, without sight of any but the porter, who brought

him his bread and water — ^who might not speak to him: — or of the beadle,

whb came twice a week to call him out to receive his periodical chastise-

* meat, which was almost welcome, because it separated him for a brief

'- interval from solitude; and here he was shut up by YaxDS^d of nights^ out

of

47^ ^^ Great Schools of England.

ScHOLEFiELDi Regius Professor of Greek in Cambridge ; the

of the reach of any sound, to suffer whatever horrors the weak nerves and
superstition, incident to his time of life, might subject him to.

''This was the penalty for the second offence. The culprit, who had
been a third time an offender, and whose expulsion was at this time
deemed irreversible, was brought forth, as at some solemn attto da ff,
arrayed in uncouth and most appalling attire— all trace of his late ' watchet
weeds ' carefully effaced, he was exposed in a jacket, resembling those
which London lamplighters formerly delighted in, with a cap of the same.

"The effect of this divestiture was such as the ingenious devisers could
have anticipated. With his pale and frighted features, it was as if some
of those disfigurements in Dante had seized upon him. In this di^;uise-
ment he was brought into the hall, where awaited him the whole number
of his schoolfellows, whose jomt lessons and sports he was thenceforth to
share no more ; the awfiil presence of the steward, to be seen for the
last time; of the executioner-beadle dad in his state robe for the occasion ;
and of two feces more of direr import, because never but in these extre-
mities visible. These were Governors ; two of whom, by choice or charter,
were always accustomed to officiate at these ultima supplicia; not to
mitigate (so at least we understood it), but to enforce the uttermost stripe.
Old Bamber Gascoigne, and Peter Aubert, I remember, were colleagues on
one occasion, when the beadle turning rather pale, a glass of brandy was
ordered to prepare him for the mysteries. The scourging was, after the
old Roman fashion, long and stately. The lictors accompanied the criminal
quite round the hall. We were generally too faint with attending to the
previous disgusting circumstances, to make accurate report with oar eyes
of the degree of corporal suffering inflicted. Rumour, of course^ gave out
the back knotty and livid. After scourging, he was made over, in his
San BenitOy to his friends, if he had any (but commonly such poor run-
agates were friendless), or to his parish-officer, who to enhance the effect
of the scene, had his station allotted to him on the outside of the hall-
gate."

' Dyer, whose career Leigh Hunt describes as " one unbroken dream of
learning and goodness,'* was one of Charles Lamb's cronies, and through
life the unconscious and eternal victim of his mystifications and practical
jokes.

' White will be ever memorable as the donor and perpetual president
of those annual banquets — more jovial if less decorous than Mrs. Mon-
tague's— to the chimney-sweepers. Lamb's account of this yearly festivity
is unsurpassable in its quiet humour. "It was a solemn supper held in
Smithfield, upon the yearly return of the fair of St. Bartholemew. Cards
were issued a week before to the master-sweeps in about the metropolis,
confining the invitation to the younger fry. Now and then an elderly
stripling would get in among us, and be good-naturedly winked at; but

Chrisfs Hospital. 47 7

Rev. George Townsend,^ andJTHOMAS Barnes, a late editor
of the TimeSy than whom, Leigh HunT'teirs'us, no man, if he
had cared for it, could have been more certain of distinction.

our main body was infantiy. One unfortunate we got, indeed, who, relying
upon his dusky suit, had intruded himself into our party, but by tokens
was providentially discovered in time to be no chimney-sweeper (all is not
soot which looks so), was quoited out of the presence with universal indig-
nation, as not having on the wedding-garment ; but in general the greatest
harmony prevailed. The place chosen was a convenient spot among the
pens, at the north-side of the fair, not so far distant as to be impervious to
the agreeable hubbub of that vanity ; but remote enough not to be obvious
to the interception of eveiy gaping spectator in it. . . . In those little tem-
porary parlours three tables were spread with napery, not so fine as sub-
stantial, and at eveiy board a comely hostess presided with her pan of
hissing sausages." ♦•♦♦♦♦•

Then we had our toasts, " The King," The Cloth," and for a crowning
sentiment, " May the Brush supersede the Laurel I "

^ A man of vast erudition ; in his youth the author of The BattU of
Armageddon; and subsequently of The Chronological Connexioti of the
Books of the Old Testament^ a work of amazing learning and resotfcfa.
Dr. Townsend also edited, very ably, Fox^s Martyrology^ and

" Though placed in Golden Durham's Second Stall,"

was through life a genial and kindly-hearted man. His religious fervour
and almost infantine simplicity of mind, induced him to visit Rome in the
hope of persuading the Pope to make such concessions in matters of faith
and discipline as might lead to an amalgamation of the Roman Catholic
and Protestant Churches.

478

Th^ Great Schools of England.

GOVERNING BODY OF CHRIST'S HOSPITAL IN 1865,

Prestdent—U. R. H. The Duke of Cambridge.
Treasurer — W. Gilpin, Esq.

^ Right Hon. W. S. Hale, Lord Mayor.
//* The Duke of Northumberland.*

R. Thornton, Esq.*
//'Gen. Sir A. J. Dalrymple, Bt*

/Archdeacon Hale."*
^ W. Cotton, Esq.*

Captain C. Shea.*

W. Brown, Esq.

G. Darby, Esq.

R. Few, Esq.
V Hon. A. Kinnaird, M.P,

W. G. Landell. Esq.

F. A. McGeachey, Esq.

B. S. Phillips, Esq. Alderman.

J. Shephard, Esq.

F. Wigan, Esq.

J. Bentley, Esq.

J. Boustead, Esq.

Sir J. Tyler, Kt

T. Roberts, Esq.

J. Jones, Esq.

Capt H. Shuttleworth.

J. James, Esq.

W. F. White, Esq.

A. Wilcoxen, Esq.

C. Gassiot, Esq.

R. Gumey, Esq. Q.C.

T. Lott, Esq. F.S.A.

H. Pigeon, Esq.

A. Powell, Esq.

W. Rathbone, Esq.

W. A. Rose, Esq Alderman, M.P.

E. Watson, Esq.

M. Wigram, Esq.

J. D. Allcroft, E^.

Rev. W. H. Brown, M.A.

C. Few, Esq.

J. T. Fletcher, Esq.
T. W. Helps, Esq.
J. M. Key, Esq.

D. Salomons, Esq. Aldermao, M. P.
S. C. Whitbread, Esq.

MASTERS OF CHRISTS HOSPITAL IN LONDON, 1865.

Upper Grammar Master.
Head Afaster^Ktv, George Andrew Jacob, D.D.

Assistants,
Rer. J. Thomas, M.A. | Rev. C. Hawkins, B.CL.

F. A. Hooper, Esq. B.A.
Master of the Latin School-^^e^. J. T. White, M. A.

Chris fs HospitaL 479

Masters of the Lower Grammar School,

Rev. R. South, M.A.
Rev. S. Gall, B.A.

J. Wingfield, Esq. M.A.
M. Laing, Esq. B.A.

Rev. E. G. Peckover, M.A.

JJead Mathematical Master— Kcv. W. Webster, M.A.

Second Master— ^C7. T. J. Potter, M.A.

Assistant Master — Rev. H. C. Bowker, B.A*

Commercial Masters— ^r, H. Sharp, with Three Assistants.

English Masters — Mr. H. F. Bowker, with Three Assistants.

Drawing Master — Mr. W. H. Back.

Assistant — Mr. H. W. C. Mason.

French Masters — Rev. Dr. E. Brette, and Two Assistants.

Music Master — Mr. G. Gooper.

OTHER OFFICIALS IN LONDON.

Physician — G. Burrows, M.D.

Surgeon — ^J. Paget, Esq. F.R.S.

Apothecary — ^T. Stone, Esq.

Dentists, J. Tracey, Esq.

Chief Clerk— yi, S. S. Dipnall, Esq.

Receiver — Mr. J. Morris.

Wardrobe-Keeper— ^x. W. H. Cross.

Assistant Clerks — Messrs. Gibbs, Little, and Saijent

Warden — R. Griggs, Esq.

Librarian — Mr. Mallinson.

House Steward — Mr. G. Brooks.

Matron— Uts. J. T. Oliver.

Solicitor— "j. J. Maberley, Esq.

Architect and Surveyor — ^J. Shaw, Esq.

Land Surveyor — R. Trumper, Esq.

480 The Great Schools of England.

MASTERS AT HERTFORD.

Grammar Master and CaUchisL
Rev. N. Keymer, M. A. with Two Assistant Mastera.

Reading and Writing Masters,
Mr. J. T. Hannum, with Three Assistants.

OTHER OFFICIALS AT HERTFORD.

Surgeon and Apothecary^, T. Evans, M.D.

Stervard—yii, G. Lndlow.

Schoolmistress^MSas S. A.. Peacock, with an Assistant.

Matron — ^Miss C. Gibbs.

J

Chdtmham. 481

APPENDIX.

The original scheme of this volume comprehended no more
than the ten Great Endowed Schools of England. In com-
pliance, however, with the request of many persons interested
in the subject, it has been thought proper to append a brief
account of the four Chief Modem Proprietary Schools, Chelten-
ham, Marlborough, Rossall, and Wellington, and of one more
old Foundation, Dulwich College, which, from the rapidly-
increasing wealth of its endowment, is surely destined, under
wise administration, to become one of the grandest educational
establishments in Britain.

CHELTENHAM, l^

Cheltenham College was founded inn84iywith the expressed
object of providing a Classical, Mathematical, and general
education of the highest order on moderate terms.

It is a proprietary of 650 shares, each share entitling the
holder to nominate one pupiL

When the proprietors fail to nominate pupils, the CouncD is
empowered to do so. Pupils so nominated, however, are sub-
ject to an annual payment of 6/. for the Senior Department
and 4/. for the Junior Department, in addition to the ordinary
tuition fee.

Governing Body ; the Council, — The affairs of the College,
with the exception of those of a scholastic nature, which are
left to the Principal and Masters, are administered by a non-
local council, which this year consists of the following mem-
bers : —

I I

y

483 The Great Schools of En^fand.

PresidetU—Tht Lord Redesdale.

Life Members,

The Lord Northwick.

The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Ely.

The Right Honourable Thomas Henry Sotheron Estcoort, M.P. D.C.L.
of Oxford.
l/^ General Sir John Fox Bntgoyne, Bart G.C.B. D.C.L. of Oxford, In-
spector-General of Fortifications.

R. S. Holford, Esq. M.P.

The Very Rev. Henry Geoige Liddell, D.D. Dean of Christcharch in the
University of Oxford.

The Veiy Rev. Richard Dawes, M. A. Dean of Hereford.

The Rev. W. H. Thompson, M.A. Regius Professor of Greek in the Uni-
versity of Cambridge.

The Rev. B. Price, M.A. Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University
of Oxford.

John Curtis Hay ward, Esq. Chairman of Quarter Sessions, Gloucestershire.

Captain Frederick Robertson, R.A.

Triennial Members,

Sir John Wither Awdry, Knt Chairman of Quarter Sessions, Wilts.

The Rev. Prebendary Wilkinson, M. A. Rector of Broughton Gifford, Wilts.

The Rev. Charles Brandon Tiye, M.A. Rector of Leckhampton.

Lieut -Col. John Pitt Kennedy.

Henry Selfe Selfe, Esq.

Henry James, Esq. Barrister-at-Law.

W. L. Newman, Esq. M.A. Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford.

G. F. Parry, Esq. M.A. Trinity Coll^;e, Cambridge.

Charles Pierson, Esq.

Sir Alexander Ramsay, Bart

Henry James, Esq.

The Rev. Canon Robertson.

Rt^irar-^Tht Rev. C. B. Tiye.

Secretary — Mr. W. L. Bain.

Masters. — The number of Class -Masters (including the
Principal and Vice-Principal, who take the first two classes
in the Classical Department, and the Head-Master and Vice-
Master, who take the first classes in the Modem Department)
is 25. Besides the Class-Masters, there are in the Classical
Department 8, and in the Modem Department 8 Masters. In
addition to which there is one Theological Tutor — ^making in
all 42 Masters.

Cheltenham, 483

Principai—Thxi Rev. Alfred Barry, B.D.

Vtce-Principal—^ev, G. Butler, M.A.

Theoiogkal Tuicr—Ktv, E. Bickersteth Wawn, M.A.

Classical Department,

Rev. P. J. F. Gantaion, M.A.
Rev. John Graves, M.A.
Clifford £. F. Nash, Esq. M.A.
W. Newman, Esq. M.A.
Rev. H. T. Price, M.A.

Rev. G. W. Smyth, M.A.
Rev. John Twentyman, B. A.
Wallace Brown, Esq. M.A.
C. D. Chenery, Esq. M.A.

Rev. J. C. Tumbull, M.A.
Mathematical Masters . . \ Rev. J. Birkett, M.A.

Rev. W. Boyce, M.A.

Professor of Sanscrit — Captain H. J. W, Carter.

Reader in Modem History-- W. Newman, Esq. M. A.

French and German — Mr. A. Schacht, and Mr. Henri Van Laun.
Master in Writing and Arithmetic — Mr. E. Watling.

Military and Civil Department.

Head-Mastef—Kcv. T. A. Southwood, M.A.

Vice-Master^^tv. H. E. Bayly, M.A.

J. Brook Smith, Esq. M.A.
S. Green, Esq. M.A.
Rev. J. Leighton, M.A.
Wm. R. Porcher, Esq. M.A.

E. Walker, Esq. M.A.
Rev. W. Inchbald, B.A.
W. H. Dynham, Esq. B.A.
J. Philp, Esq.

German — Herr P. Dusar.

French — Edouard Clavequin. | Jean Balagu^.

Experimented and Natural Sciences — Thomas Bloxam, Esq.

Assistant Plan Drawing Master and Surveyor —JAx, Tovey.

Professor of Hindustani^ Indian History and Geography,

Capt H. J. W. Carter.

Junior Department,
Head Master— Kcv. T. Middlemore Whittard, M.A.

Second Master— Kvi, A. C. WhiUey, M.A.

J. H. Churchill Baxter, Esq. B.A. | William Baieley, Esq. B.A.

Drawing Master to the Collq;e—K, N. Brooke, Esq.

Assistant Drawing Master — Mr. F. O, White.

I I 2

484 The Great Schools of England.

Division of the College. — ^The College is at present divided
into three departments : —

1. The Classical Department, the scheme of subjects in
which is, generally speaking, that of the ordinary ^Public
School" teaching.

2. The Modem (or military and civil) Department, in which
the main study is that of Mathematics, and in which, while
Latin is kept up to a certain extent, Greek is entirely omitted.
Natural Science introduced, and greater stress laid on the study
of Modem Languages.

3. The Juvenile Department, including boys between 8 and

13 (although boys, if sufficiently advanced, may pass from it at

the age of 11), and intended to serve as a preparation both for

the Classical and Modem Departments. The numbers at

present are : —

In the Classical Department 300

Modem 295

Juvenile 100

Total .... 695 i/^

Of these 695 boys, 461 are boarders, residing in separate
boarding houses, all of which are under the charge of Assistant
Masters of the College ; and 234 are day-boys, residing either
with their parents or with some one who stands to them strictly
loco parentis. The existence of this large class of day-boys
is almost peculiar to Cheltenham College, and has probably
exercised considerable influence, both positive and negative,
in the formation of its system.

Classical Department — ^The whole department is divided
into 10 classes ; the first 2 classes being divided each into 2
consecutive divisions, and including the first 70 boys. Below
these classes each class is divided into 2 parallel divisions,
supposed to be exactly equal in knowledge and ability. Each
(numbering about 15 boys) is put into the hands of a Master,
who also takes a corresponding division of the class imme-
diately below.

The scheme of work in this department is similar to that of
the great Public Schools.

Cheltenham. 485

Modem or Military and Civil Department, — The instruction
in this department consists of Mathematics, Latin, French,
German, Sanscrit, Hindustani, History, Geography, Drawing,
and Experimental Science. The reading of the higher classes
being mainly guided by the Woolwich and Sandhurst examina-
tions, which are to this department what the University course
is to a high Classical School.

Juvenile Department, — ^This department is a kind of pre-
paratory Seminary for the two higher Schools. Boys enter at
7, are not allowed to leave before 11, nor to remain beyond
13 years of age. They are taught English, the rudiments of
Latin and French, Arithmetic, History, and Geography. They
have school-rooms of their own ; a separate playground, and
a distinct boarding house.

ExhibitionSy Scholarships^ and Prizes, — An Exhibition has
been founded by Lady Schreiber of 35/. per annum, tenable for
three years at Trinity College, Cambridge, for Classics only.
Scholarships are given annually for competition (tenable for
three years, should the pupil continue so long in the College)
viz. — ^two of 25/. and 20/. per annum, respectively for the
Classical Department ; and one of 25/. (or at the option of the
gainer a gross sum of 60^. as a prize gift) for the Modem
Department

By a late decree of the Chancellor of the University of
Oxford, as Visitor of Pembroke College, certain valuable
Scholarships at that College have been Uirown open to com-
petition for all pupils from Schools in Gloucestershire. Several
of these have been already gained by Cheltenham College.

Theological prizes, two in number, and 4/ each in value,
have been exhibited by J. Walker, Esq. for proficiency in the
knowledge of the Bible and Prayer-book. A Greek Testament
prize is given annually by the Council to the boy who passes
the best examination in some portion of the Greek Testament
selected by the Principal.

A silver medal is also given annually by the Council for
excellence in Classical knowledge :

And composition prizes are bestowed for the best English

486 The Great Schools of England.

poem and the best compositions in Latin and Greek, both in
prose and verse.

Boarding Houses. — Under the sanction of the Council
certain boarding houses kept by Masters of the College are
now open ; and a few other Masters are allowed to receive a
small number of boarders each at a higher scale of charges
than is paid in the other houses.

ANNUAL EXPENSES FOR TUITION.

Classical or Military Department

Classes* £20 o o

^ Chapel Seat 100

* The Junior Department pay 16/. annually.

House Charges,

In houses under the old Rules £^ o o

In improved Houses 50 o o

• Washing 330

Extras — Sanscrit, Hindustani, and Persian languages, Drawing, and
Physical Sciences.

MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE.

This institution was founded in 1843 ; two years later it was
incorporated by Royal Charter, and in 1853 it obtained an
additional Charter.

Visitor — ^The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury.

Council,
President^^The Lord Bishop of Salisbury

.^

The Rev. the Principal B. N. C.

Oxford.
The Rev. E. F. Boyle.
The Rev. A. H. Bridges.
The Lord Bishop of St Davids.
The Rev. M. T. Farrer.
The Rev. J. D. Glennie.

The Ven. Archdeacon Lord Arthur
Hervey.

The Lord Bishop of London.

The Rev. J. Papillon.

The Very Rev. the Dean of West-
minster.

The Lord Bishop of Worcester.

Marlborough. 487

The Rt. Hon. T. H. Sothcron

Estcourt, M.P.
R. Few, Esq.

The Hon. and Veiy Rev. the Dean

of York.
The Marquis of Ailesbury.

Sir Edmund Antrobus, Bart /i Sir S. R. Glynne, Bart

H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridg^ Howel Gwyn, Esq.
R. G. Clarke, Esq.
Professor Conington.
The Earl of Devon.

Christopher Hodgson, Elsq.

R. Hunter, Esq.

F. Alleyne McGeachy, Esq.

Master of Marlborou^ College— -'^vf, G. G. Bradley, M.A. late Fellow of

University College, Oxford,

Bursar and Secretary — Rev. J. S. Thomas, M.A,

Medical Officer^'^. Walter Fergus.
^iM//>^n^William GUpin, Esq. | William Pott, Esq. '

Mariboroughs, — ^Pupils are admitted to Marlborough College
only by nomination of a Life Governor or a Donor.

A donation of 50/. paid in one sum, qualifies the giver to be
elected a Life Governor, and on being elected, at any meeting
of the Council, he is entitled, during his life, subject to the
restrictions contained in the Bye-Laws, to have always one
pupil either in the College, or as a home-boarder, on his nomi-
nation, in respect of every donation of 50/. he may give.

Any person who may desire to acquire the right to a single
nomination on payment of a donation of 20/. must apply to
the Bursar to enter the names and age of the boy proposed to
be nominated on the College books, together with the names,
residence, and quality of his father or guardian.

The Master does not recommend, as a general rule, the
entrance of boys before they have learnt, at least, the rudiments
of Latin, and, if possible, of Greek. In the case of a boy above
14, a certificate of good conduct is required together with a
full statement of the subjects which he has read, and is reading,
in Greek, Latin, French, and Mathematics, from the last Master
or Tutor under whom he has been placed ; and no boy above
14 can be received into the Lower School It is also recom-
mended that, where possible, parents should select the House
Master under whose care they wish their sons to be placed.

The Schools. — The College, containing in all 505 boys, is

y

488 The Great Schools of Er^land,

divided into three Schools — ^the Upper, the Modem, and the
Lower School

In the Upper School the education is chiefly intended as a
preparation for the Universities, and is therefore mainly Clas-
sical, with the addition of Mathematics, French, German (if
desired), History, and Geography.

In the Modem School the subjects of instmction are Mathe-
matics, Latin, French, German, History (principally modem),
Geography (including Physical and Political Geography),
together with English Composition. There are special classes
for the subjects of examination at Woolwich. For book-keep-
ing and fortification additional fees are charged The mdiments
of Greek are not taught in the regular School course but oppor-
tunity is given to boys of keeping up knowledge of it previously
acquired.

The Lower School is chiefly preparatoiy for the Upper. It
is intended for boys between the age of 11 and 14, and no boy
is allowed to remain in it after he has reached the age of 15.
All boys who belong to it are lodged and taught in a separate
part of the College buildings, and are, to a certain extent, kept
separate from the rest of the School

The Bible and Church Catechism are taught regularly in all
the Schools, and other Divinity subjects in the higher forms.

Drawing, if required, forms a part of the instruction in each
School ; but an additional fee is changed for Military Drawing.

A boy may at any time be transferred to the Modem School,
or entered in it, provided he is sufficiently advanced in his
studies for the Lower Fourth Form of the Upper School
Notice of such transfer should, whenever possible, be given
beforehand.

The boys attend service regularly in the College Chapel, and
the Master holds the office of Chaplain.

Masters, — There are, exclusive of the Head Master, 17 Form
Masters (all members of the University, except the Master of
the Lowest Form in the Lower School, who is also Assistant
Writing Master) ; 4 Masters whose work is entirely or almost
entirely mathematical; i Composition Master and Assistant

Marlborough. 489

Master to the Sixth Form ; i Master who takes private pupils
in the highest Forms, and gives instruction in modem history
and literature ; i Master who acts as Librarian, and assists in
modem language instraction ; i Writing Master. In all 25
Assistant Masters.

EXHIBITIONS AND SCHOLARSHIPS.

There are six Exhibitions to the Universities of Oxford or
Cambridge : — two vacant annually, worth 50/. and 40/. a year
respectively, tenable for three years.

There is an Election annually to two "Senior Scholarships,"
open to all boys, without distinction of place of education,
under 15 years of age on the ist of January preceding the
Election. The examination takes place in the month of June,
and is duly advertised in die Times and other papers. The
annual value of these Scholarships is 50/. each, and they are
tenable so long as the Scholar elected remains at the School.

There is also an Election annually to two " Junior Scholar-
ships,'' of the value of 20/. per annum each, open to boys under
14 years of age on the ist of January preceding the Election.
These are tenable for two years^ or until the holder be elected
to a " Senior Scholarship."

There are two Scholarships of the value of about 15/. per
annum each, founded by the late Dean Ireland, and open to
sons of clergymen only, and one of the same value founded
by the late Archdeacon Berens, open to the sons of clergymen
and laymen alike. Candidates for these Scholarships must not
have exceeded the age of 14 on the ist of January previous to
the Election \ they are tenable so long as the holder remains at
the School, or until election to a Senior Scholarship.

There is also a Scholarship worth 16/. a year, confined to the
sons of clergymen who have served for five years as Chaplains
or Missionaries within the limits of the late East India Com-
pany's Charters. It is tenable for two years, and renewable,
on the recommendation of the Master, for a like period. Can-
didates for this Scholarship must be under 14 years of age on
the ist of January previous to the Election.

490 ^^ Great Schools of England,

There are two " Old Marlburian Scholarships," tenable for
two years at the School, presented by former members of the
School. They are of the value of 20/. per annum, and are open
to members of the School under the age of 17 on the ist of
January before the Election. Every third of these Scholarships
is open to boys under 16, and confined to subjects taught in
the Modem School

Also two Scholarships, each of the value of 20/. tenable for
one year, and confined to members of the Modem School
They are open to all members of the Modem School under
the age of 17 and 15 respectively, on the ist of January pre-
vious to the Election.

Of these Scholarships the "Old Marlburian" is the only one
tenable with any other of the College Scholarships.

Houses. — ^The buildings consist of three blocks, one of which
is devoted exclusively to the Lower School The other two
are divided into three portions respectively — each of the three
portions being called a House, and each being under the
charge of a House Master.

Every new boy, or every boy on his leaving the Lower School,
is assigned to a Special House Master, chosen as far as possible
by his parents or friends ; each House Master receives Upper
and Modem School boys without distinction, and fulfils per-
manently towards the boys in his own house the same duties
of general care and superintendence as devolve on the Boarding-
house Master at Rugby or Harrow, excepting that all questions
of providing food and meals are entirely in the hands of other
authorities, such as the Bursar and Steward, and that a House
Master is only in certain cases private tutor to his boys.

Expenses. — The whole annual charge for education and
maintenance, including all requisites, except private tuition,
and such distinctly personal expenses as books, clothes, jour-
neys, and pocket-money, is as follows : —

For Sons of Clergymen f $2 lO o ^^-^

For Sons of LAyxnen ...... 70 o oX

There is also an annual charge for each boy of i/. for medical
attendance, and i/. towards washing.

RossalL 491

Tor the education of home-boarders the annual charge is : —

For Sons of Clergymen £1^ 15 o

For Sons of Laymen 21 o o

Boys who require special preparation for any examination,
or additional instruction in any branch of knowledge, must
have a private tutor. Private tuition is afforded gratuitously
to twenty boys, in, or above, the Fifth Form, selected by the
Master.

The fees for extra instruction are as follows : —

Classical Tutor in the Sixth Form . . ;f 10 o o per ann.

Ordinary Private Tuition 500

Fortification and Military Drawing . . 440

Natural Philosophy 220

Book-keeping 220

ROSSALL SCHOOL.

This School was founded in 1844, ^^ the object, as its pros-
pectus informs us, of giving an education to the sons of clergy-
men and others, similar to that of the Great Public Schools,
but of a more comprehensive character, and at less cost

The success of the experiment is said to have been such that
the Council within the last few years have expended nearly
10,000/. in the purchase of the estate, on which have been
erected buildings suitable for the accommodation and instruc-
tion of 400 boys, at a cost, including the Chapel, of full
30,000/.

Governing Body, — The management of Rossall School is
vested in the hands of a Council, 24 in number, besides the
Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Treasurer, and Secretary ; of whom
14 are clergymen and 10 laymen, with power to fill up
vacancies.

492 The Great Schools of En^nd,

COUNCIL IN 1865.

Pair(ms,
The Archbishop of Canterbury. S^^
The Archbishop of York. . >^

President.
The Earl of Derby.

The Very Rev. the Dean of Manchester, Chairman.
The Rev. Canon Parr, Vicar of Preston, Vke-Cfuiirman^
The Ven. the Archdeacon of Manchester, Rector of Croston, Chorley.
Montague Ainslie, Esq. Grizedale, Hawkshead, Windermere.
Charles Birley, Esq. Bartle Hall, Kirkham.
T. Langton Birley, Esq. Carr Hill, Kirkham.
Lieut. -Col. Bourne, Heathfield, Wavertree, Liverpool.
The Rev. Canon Brandreth, Rector of Standish, Wigan.
The Rev. C. R. Brown, Vicar of Kirkham.
The Rev. A. Campbell, Rector of Liverpool
The Rev. Canon Dumford, Rector of Middleton.
H. M. Fielden, Esq. Witton Park, Blackburn.
W. J. Gamett, Esq. Quemmore Park, Lancaster.
The Rev. Sir Henry Gunning, Bart Rector of Wigan.
The Rev. Charles Hesketh, Rector of North Meols, Southport
Oliver Heywood, Esq. Acresfield, Manchester.
J. T. Hibbert, Esq. M.P. the Grange, Urmston, Manchester.
The Rev. Canon Hornby, Vicar of St MichaeFs, Garstang.
The Rev. Canon Hornby, Rector of Bury.
The Rev. Canon Hull, Rector of Eaglesclifie, near Yarm.
Charles R. Jacson, Esq. Barton Lodge, Preston.
The Rev. Canon Master, Rector of Chorley.
The Rev. R. B. Robinson, Incumbent of Lytham.
The Rev. John Sparling, Rector of Eccleston, Chorley.
George Swainson, Esq. Liverpool.
The Rev. Canon Thicknesse, Vicar of Deane, Bolton.

The Rev. St. Vincent Beechey, Worsley, Manchester, Honorary Secretary.
Albert Royds, Esq. Mount Falinge, Rochdale, Honorary Treasurer,

MASTERS IN 1865.

The appointment of the Head Master rests with the CotinciL
He must be in Holy Orders and have attained the degree of
M.A. at Oxford or Cambridge. The other Masters are nomi-
nated by the Head Master and appointed by the Council

RossalL 493

Head Master— 'nit Rev. William Alexander Osborne, M.A.

Vke-Majter—TYit Rev. Samuel John Phillips, M.A.

Head Mastitis Assistant--^, T. R Bloxsidges, B.A.

First Maihemaiual MoHeT'—htikya CQx^»i^o% B.A.

Head Master of Modem Sc^Z—ChBrles Clarke, M.A.

Secofid Classical Master— Tht Rev. £. Sleap, M.A.

Second Mathematical Master— 'Y:\Mt Rev. Charles Gilbert Harvey, M.A.

Third Classical Master-^T, L. Thomas, M.A.

Fourth ditto— ^ev, William Henry Taylor, M.A.

Assistant Masters,

James Bartlett,^ M.A.
Arthur Evans, B.A.
The Rev. Francis Morton Beau-
mont, M.A.
R. O. Moulsdale, B.A.

C. P. Roberts, Esq.
R. Isherwood, B.A.
C. E. Lefroy Austin, B. A.
S. D. Barlow, B.A.

Master of the Preparatory School— Rev, John Reeves Pursell, M.A.

French is taught by all the Masters in their Classes, and German by the
Masters of the Upper and Modem Schools.

Resident French Master — Mons. Barr^re.

French and German Master — Mons. Dalaug.

Drawing Master — Mr. William Coulter.

Organist and Choir Master — Charles Handel Tovey.

Writing Master — Mr. Warner.

Band Master— VLt, Norwood. | Dancing Master— "^r, Pitt.

AH the boys are considered to be boarders with the Head
Master. Every other Master is expected to take the charge of
about 30 boys in, and 20 or 30 out of School, and to be
responsible for attention to their character, conduct, and general
comfort, as well as for their instruction.

The hours at which he is required to be present (except by

^ Lecturer in Chemistiy.

494 ^^ Great Schools of En^and^

previous communication with the Head Master) are generally
as follows : —

Chapel 7 or 7.30 A.M. Breakfast 7.30 or 8.
School 8. 30 or 9 — 10. 30 : 1 1 — 12. 3a
Dinner i P.M. School 4 — 6. Tea 6«
Preparation (occasional) 7 — 8.
Chapel 8.30. Dormitory duty 9.

Each Master has at least two half holidays a week^ and there
are two Sergeants to enforce ordinary discipline and report
offenders to their respective Masters.

Separate rooms, as at College, are provided for each Master,
and the Masters take all their meals in their own common room
or rooms, except dinner, which is served in Hall.

A portion of each Master's salary is paid by a capitation fee on
pupils assigned to him out of School as above, and the salaries
are increased with the increase of such assignments.

THE SCHOOL.

The School has now been divided into two distinct depart-
ments for instruction — the Classical and the Modem Schools ;
but the discipline and domestic arrangements are the same in
each, and the control and management, as before, under the
Head Master' of Rossall.

The two lowest Classes are a lower or preparatory School,
equally for the Classical School, and for the Modem, and in
these all bo3rs are required to learn I^tin as the best foundation
for instruction in the French, Italian, and Spanish languages.

In the Modem School, the general course of study comprises
English Grammar, Arithmetic, Writing, Dictation, History and
Geography, Drawing, Latin, French, German, Mathematics,
Natural and Experimental Science, English Literature and
Composition. For these subjects the boys are divided into
classes according to their capabilities or proficiency. Latin
and (rerman are optional, except in the Commercial Class,
where German is taught to all, and Latin generally excluded.

I. Military Class, in preparation for Woolwich, Sandhurst,
and Direct Commissions. Special subjects : Geometrical
Drawing, Fortification, Surveying.

RossalL 495

2. Naval Class. — Special subjects : Navigation and Nautical
Astronomy.

3. Civil Service Class. — Special subjects : Pr&is Writing
and Book-keeping.

4. CivU Engineering Class, — Special subjects : Mensuration
and Surveying.

5. Mercantile Class. — Special subjects : Book-keeping and
Commercial Correspondence.

It is recommended that boys be placed in the Classical
rather than in the Modem School, if there is any possibility
that their parents may hereafter wish to give them a classical
education, as it wOl be easy at any time to pass from the Clas-
sical School to the Upper Classes of the Modem School, but
the opposite change from the Modem to the Classical will
involve much difficulty and loss of time to the pupiL

The number of boys is limited to 350, but there is a Pre-
paratory School a mile distant where a married cleig3anan takes
charge of 32 boys from 7 to 9 years of age.

No pupil is admitted under 9 years of age at Rossall, nor
under 7 at the preparatory School, nor above 14, except with
the special sanction of the Head Master.

The mode of admission is either by nomination or annual
payments.

Pupils nominated by donors pay, if sons or dependent wards
of clergymen, 40/., if sons of laymen, 50/. per annum. Those
not nominated pay in each case 10/. extra.

A donation of 50 guineas entitles the donor to one nomi-
nation. A donation of 100 guineas constitutes the donor a life
Govemor, and empowers him to vote at all General Meetings,
and to have always one pupil in the School on his nomination.
Discipline. — ^The Masters take the discipline of the School,
subject to the Head Master's rules, but the Monitors have a
limited jurisdiction in all cases of ill treatment Corporal
punishment is never inflicted unless by report from the Masters
in charge, and in School, countersigned by the Head, and then
only in extreme cases.
Recreations, — The play-grounds are forty acres in extent,

496 Tlu Great ScKools of En^and,

besides an almost unlimited range of sands and seashore^ and
contain cricket-grounds for boys of all ages.

Holidays, — ^The vacations are 7 weeks at Midsummer and 5
at Christmas.

Meals, — ^There are 4 meals a day : break&st at 8, dinner at
1.30, tea at 6, and supper at 8.15.

There are annual exhibitions of 50/. a year, tenable for three
years, at Oxford or Cambridge, the Egerton exhibition of 10^ a
year, in books (founded by Lord Egerton, of TattonX tenable
at College also, and eight exhibitions of 30^! and 20/. a year,
held by pupils in the school, and open for competition annually
to any boy whatever who has not yet attained the age of
fourteen years.

Since Christmas, Beebee, of St John's College, Cambridge,
has gained the honours of eighteenth wrangler and fourth
classic ; Fennell, ninth classic in the Cambridge classical tripos,
and Brown and Fayrer have been elected from the school as
scholars of University and Trinity Collies, Oxford, by open
competition.

WELLINGTON COLLEGE. ^

. This College was founded by public subscription, in com-
' memoration of the late Duke of Wellington, for the education,
/ upon its Foundation, of the sons of deceased officers who shall
' have borne commissions in her Majesty's British or Indian
i army; was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1853, and opened
in 1859 for both Foundationers and Non-Foun^tioners.

Visitor — Her Most Gradous Majesty. V^ ^

Pnsident^ms, Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, KG. ^
Vice-PresidefU—Thfi Right Honourable the Earl of Derby, K.G. l/^

Gozfermfrs,

His Grace the Duke of Wellington, *>

K.G.
The Marquis of Salisbury, K.G. r/
Earl Granville, K.G. t^
The Earl of Dalhousie, K.T. G.C.B. ^
The Earl of EUenborough, G.CB.

H. R. H. the Duke of Cambridge,

KLG.
His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch,
K.G.
t His Grace the Duke of Northumber-
/ land, K.G.

JVellington.

491

Earl Russell, K.G.

Viscount Gough, G.C.B.

Viscount Eversley.

The Rt Rev. the Lord Bishop of

Oxford.
Lord Redesdale.
Lord Chelmsford.
Rt Hon. S. H. Walpole, M.P.

Rt Hon. B. Disraeli, M.P.
Sir Edmund Antrobus, Bart.
Sir James Weir Hogg, Bart
Sir Alexander Woodford, G.C.B.
Thomas Baring, Esq. M. P.
Henry Richard Cox, Esq.
Peter Richard Hoare, "Esq,
Rev. G. R. Gleig, M.A.

His Grace the Duke of Wellington,

K.G.
Rt. Hon. the Secretaiy of State for

War.

Ex' Officio Governors,

H. R. H. the General Commanding-
in-Chie£

His Grace the Archbishop of Can-
terbury.

Hon. .Sfr.— Colonel the Hon. W. P. Talbot

Secretary— Gtot^ Chance, Esq. Treasury, WhitehaU.

TTte Masters. — ^The Head Master is appointed by the
Governors ; the Assistant Masters by the Head Master.

Head Master— -Tht Rev. E. W. Benson, B.D. late Fdlow of Trinity College,

Cambridge.

Tutors and Assistant Masters,

F. H. Fisher, Esq. M.A.
H. W. Eve, Esq. M.A.
The Rev. A. Carr, M.A.
The Rev. C. W. Penny, M. A.
The Rev. T. H. Freer, M.A.
The Rev. C. Stanwell, M^.

The Rev. W. M. CoUett, M.A.
A. F. Griffith, Esq. M.A. (Mathe-
matical.)
The Rev. J. W. Spurling, B.A.
C. Butler Davies, Esq. B.A.
T. B. Payne, Esq. B.A.

Professors,

German Dr. Weil.

French M. E. de Guingand.

Chemistry J. G. Barford, Esq.

Drawing Mr. Tucker.

Singing and Music . . . Mr. Edmonds {Organist),

Singing (2^ Mr. Bishop.

Writing Mcuter • . . . Mr. Bishop.

Drillmaster Sexgeant Farrow.

Foundationers, — No boys are admissible on the Foundation
but the sons of officers who, within five years of their death,
had been either on full or half-pay. They must be between
the ages of eleven and thirteen, and must pass a fixed admission

K K

498 The Great Schools of En^nd.

examinatian. On these conditions they are eligible for election
by the Governors present at half-yearly general meetings held
for the puipose.

Four boys are elected annually (two in February and two in
June) to UtiQ first vacancies which occur, by competition^ among
the boys eligible for the Foundation. The Royal Commis-
sioners of the Patriotic Fund retain the privilege of having
eighteen boys of their nomination, the sons of deceased officers,
on the Foundation of the College, subject to the payment of
lo/. per annum for each boy.

Non-Foundationers, — Boys are admitted as -A^-Founda-
tioners at a charge of no/, per annum : if sons of officers in
the army, at 80/. per annum. These pa3rments include, besides
board, all the branches of education. School stationery,
medical attendance, washing, and two suits of the uniform
dress which is worn in College to avoid distinctions between
Foundationers and Non-Foundationers. Boys cannot ordinarily
be admitted as Non-Foundationers above the age of fifteen,
unless capable by their acquirements of being placed in the
Upper Form of the Middle School

The number of boys of both classes now in the School is
250 ; the full number for which accommodation was provided,
but dormitories for forty more are being erected.

Education, — ^The division of the School into forms for the
purposes of instruction is much the same as at other large
Schools, and the education differs from the ordinary Public
School system by the introduction of modem elements as regular
and not as extra portions of the school-work ; that is, the
arrangements are such as to admit the " modem elements "
within the proper limits of School-hours ; to encourage them
in the same way as classical studies are encouraged, and to
allow proficiency in them to advance^ a boy in the School

The subjects taught are arranged as follows : —

1. For ail — Classics (including History, &a), Mathematics,
and French.

2. In Upper Part of Middle School and in Upper School,
German in addition to, or if desired, in lieu of French,

Wellingtoiu 499

3. In Middle and Lower Schools boys learn Drawing and
Singing, and continue them in Upper School if they show
aptitude for them.

4. In Middle and Upper Schools, Chemistry may be learnt:

5. In Upper School (at least for boys intended for the
University) it is generally thought desirable, that if they con-
tinue both German and French, it should be in alternate terms.
They ought by that time to be fairly advanced in French.

6. In the Modem Department, Latin verse composition
and Greek are discontinued, or the amount of them diminished,
in order that more time may be devoted to Mathematics,
Modem Languages, Modem History, or Science. Future
candidates for Woolwich, &c may enter this department on
reaching the Middle School, or if doing well in Classics at a
higher place in the School,

Scholarships and Exhibitions.

Open Scholarships. — Of these there are eight, of the value of
50/. a year each, tenable for four years, two of which are
annually examined for in September. These are open to all
competitors, without restriction cu to military parentage^ under
fourteen years of age.

Foundation Scholarships^ twenty in number, limited to sons of
deceased officers, are given by examination, four every year
— ^two in February, and two in June — to the best candidates
eligible for the Foundation. Two of these annually are for
boys under twelve, and two for boys under thirteen years of
age at the time of their election by the Governors. They are
tenable so long as the boy remains in College. Their value is
estimated at (not less than) 70/. a year; the only School ex
penses paid by boys obtaining them being (besides the cost
of books) a payment of 10/. 15/. or 20/. a year as fixed by the
Governors.

Foundationers who are thus elected are admitted immediately
to the first vacancies, and have precedence on the Foundation ;
and boys doing well (even if unsuccessful) in this examination
thereby strengthen their claims for election by the Governors.

K K 2

500 The Great Schools of England.

Wdlesky Scholarships, open only to members of the School.

Tenable at the School, apart from, or in addition to, any of
the above, and open to cUl members of the School, without
restriction, are —

Four Junior Scholarships of 20/. a year, each for two years.

Three of 50/. a year each, for three years (continued at the
University), and two Exhibitions of 30/. a year each, for two
years, for subjects studied in the Modem Department (con-
tinued at the Universities or at Woolwich).

Any of the scholarships are vacated if the holder fails to keep
the annual residence required of Members of the Foundation
to which he belongs.

There are also about twenty Grovemors' and other prices
distributed every year for proficiency in various subjects of
study, besides form-prizes, &c., and Her Majesty gives annually
a Gold medal for Good Conduct

Dormitories and TutoricU System, — Each "dormitory" of
thirty has its own tutor and its own prefects ; its table in hall
and place in chapel ; and is considered as a distinct body in
the games. A boy remains during his whole school-life in the
" dormitory " in which he first enters. The " tutor of a dormi-
tory" answers to the master of a house elsewhere, obtaining
frequent reports of a boy's progress from his Form Master,
interesting himself in all matters touching his progress and
well-being, and, with the concurrence of the Head Master,
corresponding with parents. This method of sub-division has
acted well and strongly firom the first on the tone and character
of the boys, and on their personal relations with their masters.

Construction of Dormitories and Studies. — ^The dormitories,
eight in number, are 118 feet long by 29 feet wide; they
are divided by wooden partitions 8 feet 6 inches high, into
30 or 32 small rooms, "studies," 10 feet 6 inches long
by 7 feet broad, ranged on either side of a passage 7 feet
8 inches wide. Above, all is open to the full height of the
dormitory, 13 feet. An excellent system of warming and ven-
tilation keeps the rooms at an even temperature, and perfectly
fresh night and day. Each study can be locked by its owner.

Dulwich, 501

the tutot having a pass key j each study has its own window
and gaslight, and contains bed, bookcase, chair, and washing-
stand, with such furniture as, under certain restrictions, a bo/s
friends add.

Library. — There is an excellent library, to which at certain
hours every boy has free access.

Meals are taken in hall by all the boys together : breakfast
at 8 A.M.; dinner at 1.30 a.m.; tea at 6 p.m.; supper at 8.30 p.m.

Holidays. — ^There are three half-holidays in the week, and
three vacations in the year ; one of six weeks beginning on the
last Tuesday in July, one of five weeks at Christmas, and one
of eighteen days at Easter.

Expenses. — For a Foundationer, the annual charge is 10/.
15/. and 20/. at the discretion of the Governors.

Non-Foundationers, it has been mentioned, pay no/, or, if
sons of officers, 80/. per annunu

^( DULWICH COLLEGE.

STYLED IN FULL,

"ALLEYN'S COLLEGE OF GOD'S GIFT AT DULWICH."

" Go(rs Gift College'' was founded, under letters patent of
King James I. by Edward Alle)m, the famous actor and intimate
associate of Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. The College was
opened with great state on September 13th, 16 19, in the pre-
sence of Lord Chancellor Bacon, Lord Arundell, Inigo Jones,
and other distinguished men of the time. It was originally
founded for a Master, a Warden, 4 Fellows, 6 poor Brethren,
6 poor Sisters, and 12 poor Scholars, of whom the Brethren,
Sisters, and Scholars were to be elected from four specified
parishes. By the Founder's Statutes, bearing date 1626, the
educational advantages were extended to all sons of residents
in Dulwich, and to so many others (without restrictive

502 The Great Schools of Et^jtand*

qualification of any kind) as would make up the total number
of boys receiving education at the College to 80 in alL

It appears, moreover, by Alleyn's diary, still preserved at
the College, that during his lifetime boys were actually received
at his School as boarders, at a charge of from 12/. to 20/. a
year each, sums equivalent in present currency to 60/. and 100/.
a year.

It is unfortunate in the interests of the public that (partly
in consequence of legal difficulties) the liberal provisions of
Alleyn's statutes for enlarging the basis of his Foundation were
set aside after his death.

In 1858 an Act of Parliament for reconstituting the College
came into operation.

The College now consists of two branches — ^the Educational
and the Eleemosynary. After provision for the expenses of
management and of the maintenance of die fabric and also of
the Chapel and Library, the surplus revenue is divided into
four portions, of which three are assigned to the Educational,
and one to the Eleemosynary branch. The endowment of the
College continued to be about 800/. a year for nearly 100 years
after the Foundation, but now amounts to no less than 15,000^
with the prospect of a large and progressive increase ; but from
the above amount must be deducted 4,000/. a year payable at
this time in life-pensions under the Act

Visitor — The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury.
GOVERNORS IN 1865.

Rev. W. Rogers, M. A. {Chairman).

H. E. Adair, Esq. M.P.

James Fergusson, Esq. F.R.S.

R. Fisher, Esq.

J. P. Gassiot, Esq.^F.R.S.

M. Hopgood, Esq.

A. Longley, Esq.

Colonel J. H. Macdonald.

S. J. Nail, Esq.

John Nevins, Esq.

Dr. J. Percy, F.R.S.
J. Pew, Esq.
R. Phillips, Esq.
C. S. Roundell, Esq.
J. Savage, Esq.
W. H. Stone, Esq.
W. Tite, Esq. M.P.
J. Waterlow, Esq.
R. Wrench, Esq.

Of the above, 11 are nominated by the Court of Chanceiy,

Dulwkh* 503

and 8 are elected by the Vestries of the parishes of Bishopsgate,
Camberwell, St. Luke, Middlesex, and St Saviour, Soudiwark,
in the proportion of 2 by each Vestry.

Master of Dtdwich College— ^c^. Alfred J. Carver, D.D.

Chaplain — Rev. J. R. Oldham, M.A«

Receiver — Charles Dmce, Esq.

Clerk—Vi, J. Dennen, £sq.

Plans for new College buildings to afford accommodation
for 300 boys in each of the Schools are now in course of pre-
paration, and it is expected that the erection of the new
buildings will be commenced this year.

THE UPPER SCHOOL.

Head Master — ^The Master of the Collie, ex-officio.

Under Master of the Upper School— ^t^r, G. C. Bell, M.A.

Assistant Masters.
Rev. G. Voigt, M.A. | Rev. H. J. Hose, M.A.

Mr. G. B. Doughty.

French — M. Darqu^.

Drawing — Mr. J. C. L Sparkes.

Music and Singing— "Mi, H. Baumer (Oiganist).

This School is limited at present to 130 boys. No boy is
admissible before the age of 8, or after that of 15 years. The
admission of boys rests with the Master, under regulations
approved by the Governors, and is made upon examination.
A preference is, however reserved in favour of the sons of
residents in the four parishes named above.

The charge for day-bo)rs belonging to the privileged parishes
is 6/. per annum if they be under 14 years of age, and 8/. if
above that age. The charge for boys not entitled to the
residential preference is not yet definitely fixed. The few
hitherto admitted pay only 2/. additional per annum.

The scheme of instruction is an unusually comprehensive
one, including, in addition to the ordinary curriculum of the
Great Public Schools^ a systematic course of teaching in English,

504 The Great Schools of England,

Modem Languages, Drawing, and Natural Science. Tlie
su)[)jects of instruction are as follows : —

Religious Knowledge.

English Literature and CompositioiL

General History and Geography.

Latin and Greek, with composition in both languages, in
preparation for the Universities.

* Modem Languages (at present only French).

Arithmetic and Mathematics.

Vocal Music.

Drawing (freehand and from models), Perspective, Practical
Geometry, and Imitative Colouring.

♦Mensuration, and the principles of Civil Engineering.

♦Mechanics, Chemistry, and the Natural Sciences,

This scheme, however cannot be fully carried out so far as
relates to the subjects marked with an * until the new buildings
are erected ; the School will then be divided into departments.
At present special arrangements are made for giving instruction
to boys who are preparing to enter any of the open com-
petitions.

Boarding-houses.^-ThesQ are at present three in number.
Each house is in charge either of one of the Assistant Masters
or of a " Dame." All boarding-houses must be under the super-
vision of the Master of the College, and be subject to mles and
regulations prescribed by the Governors. The charges for
boarding vary at the several houses from 35/. to 50/. a year.

Foundation Scholars to be educated and maintained free of
charge. These are not to exceed 24 in number. This pro-
vision is not yet carried into effect

Exhibitions. — Eight Exhibitions, not exceeding the value of
100/. per annum each, are to be established whenever the
resources of the Foundation permit The holder of an Ex-
hibition must be resident at one of the English Universities, or
be a bond fide student of some learned or scientific profession,
or of the fine arts, with a view to the professional practice
thereofl Power is reserved to the Governors of increasing the
number of Exhibitions as circumstamces may admit

Dulwkh. 505

THE LOWER SCHOOL.

Head Master ^Vivi. W. F. Greenfield, M.A.

Assistant Masters,
Mr. H. J. Landsdowne. ] Mr. E. Ewer.

French — M, Darqu^.

Drawing— Vit, J. C. L. Sparkes.

Music and Singing-— Mr. H. Bauxner.

This is not a Junior Department but a separate School, and
is entirely distinct in its conduct and arrangements from the
Upper School The object of its foundation is described to
be " the instruction and benefit of the children of the industrial
and poorer classes resident in any of the four parishes'' which
are named above.

It consists at present of 90 boys, including 12 Foundation
or Free Scholars.

Day-boys are admitted by the Head Master, and must be
above 8 years of age. No boy can remain in the School after
the age of l6. The charge for day-boys is i/. per annum if
they be under 14 years of age, and 2/. if they be above that age.

The scheme of instruction is as follows : —

Religious Knowledge.

Reading, Writing, English Grammar, and Composition.

General History and Geogcaphy.

Latin (elementary), with Prose Composition.

* Modem Languages (only French at present). Arithmetic,
Elementary Mathematics, and Mensuration.

* Elementaiy Instruction in Mechanics, Chemistry, and the
Natural Sciences.^

Freehand and Mechanical Drawing.

And it is provided that the instruction in these subjects shall
bear especially on their application to the Industrial Arts.

Boarding-hotisesy as in the case of the Upper School, are to
be under the supervision of the Master of the College. None,
however, have as yet been established.

^ For subjects marked * see remarks npon the scheme for the Upper School

So6 The Great Schools of En^and.

Scholarships and Apprenticing Gifts. — Gratuities not exceed-
ing 6 in number, or 40/. in value, are to be granted annually
to boys leaving the Lower School for the purpose of appren-
ticing or advancing them in the world ; also Scholarships not
exceeding 3 in number in any one year, or 40/. per annum in
value, may be awarded when the resources of the Foundation
shall permit

One gratuity of 20/. is now awarded at the Annual Ex-
amination.

The Discipline and Course of Instruction to be adopted in the
Lower School are committed to the Head Master of the School,
subject to the general supervision and direction of the Master
of the College and to the regulations of the Governors.

Religious Instruction in both Schools is given in accordance

with the doctrines of the Church of England under the general

/ direction of the Master of the College : except that instruction

y I in the Church Catechism and ijn the distinctive doctrines of

I the Church of England is not to be given to boys whose parents

/ state in writing to the Master that they object on conscien-

/ tious grounds.

The College Chapel, — Service is performed here by the Chap-
lain on Sundays, and on such other days as the Governors, or
the Master with their sanction, may direct All boys except
those exempted as above, or day-boys residing at too great a
distance, are required to attend.

The Picture Gallery attached to the College has a separate
endowment of 520/. a year. The surplus income, after defray-
ing the cost of maintaining the gallery, is to be applied to the
purpose of providing instruction in drawing and designing to
the boys at the two Schools.

The Eleemosynary Branch of this wealthy charity consists
at present, it is painful to say, of only 6 " Brethren" and 6
" Sisters," the very number for which the Founder made pro-
vision when the endowment yielded no more than 800/. per
annum ! It is indeed high time that this department of the
Institution, as well as the Educational branch, should be
greatly extended.

INDEX.

CHARTER-HOUSE.

Admission, Ase of^ 282.

Arithmetic, 20^

Benefices, 278.

Boarders and Boarding-liotises, 281.

Brook Hall, 272.

Buildings (M^ Chapd ; the Great

Hall^ the Great Chamber^ 6r*c,

<Sr*f.), 270 — 272.
Carthusians, Celebrated, 289.

Monuments to, 271.

Carthusian, The, 297.

Carthusians* Festival, 271.

Charter-house Square, 258.

Chartreux, The, 258.

Chemistry, 284.

Coachingand Coach Tree, 288.

Crown, The, 288.

Day-boys, 282.

Diet, 281.

Divinity, 283.

Divisions of the School, 282.

Drawing, 284.

Educational Staff in 1865, 298.

Emoluments of Masters, 279.

Endowment, 267 — 277.

Examinations, 285.

Exhibitions, 285.

Expenses, Pupils, 281.

Expenditure, 277.

Fagging, 286.

Fencing, 287.

Forms, 283.

Foundation, 257—275.

Founder, 261-— 267.

Foundationers, 280.

French, 283.

Geography, 283.

German, 283.

Governing Body, 275, 276.

History, 283.

Holidays, 288.

Hospital, 275.

Income, 277.

Infirmary, 274.

Library, 285.

Masters, 278—280.

Mathematics, 284.

Modem Lsoiguages, 284.

Monitorial System, 286.

Music, 284.

Petties, 282.

Poor Brethren, 275.

Priory of Sir Walter Manny, 258.

Prizes, 285.

Promotion, 284.

Punishments, 286.

Recommendations, Special, of the

Public Schools Commissioners,

299.
Pulling-in, Sport of, 287.
Register of Charter-house, 289.
Religious Observances, 288.
Revenue, 277.
School, Arrangements of, and Course

of Studies, 282.

Hours of, 284.

Singing, 284.

Sports and Pastimes, 287.

Study, Course of, 282.

Sutton, Thomas (Founder of

Charter • house Hospital and

School), 261 — 267.
Ben Jonson's supposed attack

on, 264.

Heme's Eulogium on, 264.

Death of, 267.

Tuition, Private, 281.
Usher, 279,
Vacations, 28&

^

508

Index,

CHELTENHAM.

Arithmetic, 485.
Boarding-houses, 486.
Boys, Number of, 484.
Civil Department; 48^.
Classical Divisions, 484.
Class-Masters, 482.
Council, The, 482.
Division of the College, 484.
Divisions, Classical, 484.
Examinations, 485.
Exhibitions, 485.
Expenses, 486.
Foundation, 481.
French, 48^
German, 405.
Geography, 485.
Governing Body, 482.
Hindustani, 485, 486.
History, 485.

Juvenile Department, 484, 485.
Masters, Number of, 482.

List of, 483.

Members, Life, 482.

Triennial, 482.

Modem (or Military and Civil De-
partment), 484, 485.

Languages, 484.

Natural Science, 4841
Nomination, 481.
Number of Boys, 484.
President, 482.
Prizes, 485.
Proprietary, 481.
Pupils, Nomination of^ 481.
Sanscrit, 485.
Scholarahips, 485.

CHRIST'S HOSPITAL.

Admission, 446, 454.
Almoners, Committee o( 458.
Arithmetic, 465.

Benefactions of Lady Ramsey, 448.
Bluecoat Boy and Girl, Marriage of,

453.
Boxes for Contributions, 446.

Boys, Number of, 448, 455.

Buildings, The, 459.

Charter of the Three Hospitals, 442.

of Charles 11. 449, 465.

Christ's Hospital, Some Acoonnt

of, 442, 462.
Cloth-Market, Blackwell, 44^.
Committee of Governors, 460.
Copley, Picture by, 461.
Counting-house, 459.
Court^room, 459.
Diet, 45S, 458, 468.
Discipline, 467.
Drawing School, 465.
Dress, 44c.
Edward V I. 443.
Eminent "Blues," 471.
Endowments, 443, 445, 448^ 449.
English and Commercial School,

464.
Erasmus, Great and Little, 464.
Exhibitions, 466.
Expulsion, Form of^ 476.
Festivals, 468.
Foundation, 442.
Freemen, Children o( 446.
French School, 465.
Government, 457.
Governing Body, 478.
Grammar School, Upper, 463.

Lower, 464.

Grecians, 464, 466.

■ Deputy, 464.

Grey Friars*^ Monastery, 442.
Hall, The Great, 452, 459.
Hertford, Branch School at, 453,

458. 463-
Holbein, Pictures by, 443, 459, 461.

Holidays, 468.

Hours of School, &c. 467.

Infirmary, 461.

King's Boys, The, 45a

King's Ward, The, 450.

Lely, Sir Peter, Picture by, 461.

Libraries, 468.

Masters, Lost of Upper Grammar,

470.
List of, in Mathematical School,

470.

List of in 1865, 478.

Mathematics, 449, 464, 465.
Matron, The, 458.
Number of boys, 45$.
Nurses, The, 459.
Orations, 461.
President, The, 457.
Prizes, 466.

Index.

509

Receiver, The, 458*
Recreations, 469.
Religious Instruction, 469.
St. Amand's, Mr. bequest, 453.
School, The, 463.

Upper Grammar, 463.

Liower Grammar, 463.

Writing, The, 462, 463.

English and CommercuJ, 464.

Latin, The, 464. .

French, The, 465.

Mathematical, The, 449, 465.

Drawing, The, 465.

Steward, The, 458.
Suppers, Public, 460.
Treasurer, The, 4s 7.
Warden, The, 458, 467.
Wardrobe Keeper, The, 458.

DULWICH.

Act of Parliament (1858), 502,

Admission, Age of, 503, 505.

Alleyn, Edws^ (the Founder), 501^
502.

Diary of Edward, 502.

Apprenticing gifts, 506.

Boarding-houses, 504.

Boarders, 502.

Brethren, Poor, 501, 506.

College Chapel, 506.

" Dame," 504.

Day-boys, 505.

Discipline of the Lower School, 505.

Drawing, 504, 505.

Eleemosynary Branch, 502, 506.

Endowment, 502.

Exhibitions, 504.

Expenses, Upper School, 503.

Lower School, 505.

Founder, The, 501.

Foundation, The, 501.

Scholars, 504, 505,

Founder's Statutes, 501.

Geography, 504.

" God's Gift" (Name of the Col-
lege), 501.

Governing Body, 502.

History, 504.

Library, 502.

Life Pensions, 502.

Master of the College, 503.

Masters of Upper School, 50^

Masters of Lower School, 505.
Number of Boys — Upper School,

503.
Lower School, 505.

Picture Gallery, 506.

Preferential Parishes, 503.

Revenue, 502.

Scheme of Instruction in Upper

School, 503,

in Lower School, 505.

Scholarships, 506.

School, Upper, 503, C04.

Lower, 505, 506.

Scholars, Free, 504, 505.

Sisters, Poor, ^6S.

Visitor, 502.

ETON.

Admission, Age of, for King's
Scholars, 15.

for Oppidans, 23.

in Lower School, 31.

Alms-women, 10.

Beads-men, 10.

Benefices, 18.

Boat-races, 36.

Boarders and boarding-houses, 39—
41.

Books, Leaving, 42.

Bounds, 35.

Boys, Number of, 40.

Bursars, 1 1.

Buildings (the Chapel, Schools,
Cloisters, Libnury, Hall, &c.)>
5—8.

Charges, School, 41.

Chonsters, 14.

Classical teaching, &c. 25.

Clerks, Lay, 14.

Commissioners, Special Recommen-
dations of the, 53.

General, List of thc^

Collections, 32.

Collegers, or King's Scholars^ 14.

Conducts, or Chaplains, 13.

Consoetudinarium Vetus Scholse
Etonensis, 20.

Dames, 39.

Debatinjgr Society, 38.

Diet, 10741*

Discipline, 33.

5^0

Index,

Divisions, 22.

Drawing, 3a

Election Chamber, 5.

Election to Eton, 17.

Election to Scholarship at King's

College, 17.
Endowment, i7>
Examinations, 32, 33.
Exhibitions, 32.
Elxpenditure, 18.
Expenses of a Colleger, 41.

of a resident Oppidan, 42.

Eton College, Account of, I-— 9, 20.

Constitution of, 10.

Etonians, past and present, 43.
Fagging, 35.
Fellows, II.
Filii Nobilium^ 20.
Fines on Renewal of Leases, 12.
Forms in School, 20, 22.
Foundation, i, 10.
Foundationers, 19.

Non, 19.

French, 29.

Geography, 29.

Govemmg Body, 10, 12, 60.

Government of the School, 23.

History, 29.

Masters — Head Master, duties,

powers, and emoluments, 13, 23,

24-
Lower, 13, 30.

Assistant, appointment, quali-
fications, and emoluments, 27, 28.
— — List of old, 44.

List of present, 61.

Mathematical teachmg, 27, 28.

Masters, 28.

School, 28.

Fee Fund, 28.

Modem Languages, 29.
Monitorial System, 34.
Montem, 37.
Moral training, 33.
Music, 30.
Natural Science, 30.
Newcastle Scholarship, 33.
Oppidans, or Non-roundationers,

I9» 20, 39.
Expenses 0% 42.

Ostiarius, or Usher, 3a

Precentor, 12.

Prizes, 33.

Provosts, List of, 43.

Provost, la

Vice, II.

Putri CommensaUs^ 20.

Punishments, 35.

Pupil-room, Work in, 26.

Ram, Hunting of the, 37.

Recommendations, Special, of the
School's Commissioners, 53.

Religious Observances, 39.

Removes, 22.

Revenue, 17.

Sacrist, The, 12.

School, Arrangement of, 20.

• Divisions of, 11.

• Government of, 23.

Work in, 25.

Arrangement o^ for Mathe-
matics, 28.

Lower, 30, 31.

Shirking, 36.

Sports and pastimes, 36.

Statutes, 3.

Studies, Course of, 25.

Trials, 32.

Tutors, Private, 26, 27.

Presents to, 42.

■ Domestic superintendence of,

33.
Visitorial authority, 18.

HARROW.

Admission, Age of, 321.

Qualifications for, 321.

Allegra, Lord Byron's daughter, 314.

Appeal of Harrow Parishioners to
the Court of Chancery, 310.

Arrangement of the School, 321.

Arrow Prize, 333.

Boarding-houses, 334.

Buildings, The (Ancient School-
room ; Speech - room. Chapel,
&a),jii.

Butts, The, 332.

Charter of the School, 303.

Chemistry, 324.

Copies, 323.

Course of Study, 323.

Debating Society, 333.

Diet, 335.

Discipline, 328,

Index,

5"

Divisions, Classical, 322.

Mathematical, 322.

Drawing, 324.
Electricity, 324.
Endowment, 315, 316.
English Form, 320.
Examination, Entrance, 33 1.
Examinations, 327.
Exeat, 323.
Expenses of a Foundationer, 335.

of a Non-Foundationer, 336.

Fagging, 330.

Forms, 321,

•* Foreigners," 320.

Foundation, 302 — 315.

Foundation Boys, 320.

French, 322.

German, 323.

Geography, 323.

Geology, 324.

Governing Body, First, 303.

in 1865, 345.

Harrovians, Eminent, 337.
Harrow School, Some Account of,
302 — 315.

Church, 313.

Churchyard, 314.

Shooting Matches, 332.

History, 323.

Holidays, 333.

Insurrection at Harrow School in

177^ 309-
in 1805, 310.

Libraries, Old and New, 312.

Library, Vaughan, 313,
•Lyon, Jfohn, Founder of Harrow
School, 302, 303.

Monument to, 303.

Statutes ot, 303,

Rules of, 305.

Articles to be read to Parents,

306.

Masters, List of from 1656, 337.

— Present List of, 345.

Assistant, 319.

Master, Head, Duties and Emolu-
ments of, 317.

Lower or ** Usher," 318.

Mathematics, 322.

Modem Languages, 322.

Monitorial System, 328.

Monthly Reports, 328.

Moral Trainmg, 328.

Music, 324.
Natural Science, 324.
Printed School I^ists, 317.
Private Tuition, 324.

Tutors, 324.

Prizes, 326.

Prize Arrow, 3^3.

Promotion, 326.

Punishment, 332.

Pupil Room, Work in, 325.

Recommendations, Special, of the

Commissioners, 347.
Religious Observances, 334.
Scholarships, 326.
School, Arrangement of the, 321.

Work, 327.

Schoolroom, Ancient, 311.
Speech Day, 312.
Speech-room, 312.
Sports and Pastimes, 332.
Tutors, Private, 324.
Tuition, Private, 324.

MARLBOROUGH.

Admission, Age of, 487.

Book-keeping, 488,

Bursar, 457.

Council, The, 486.

Donations, 487.

Drawing, 488.

Elections, 489.

Exhibitions, 489.

Expenses, 490.

Fees for Extra Instruction, 491.

Fortification, 488.

French, 488.

Geography, 488.

German, 488.

Governing Body, 486.

Governors, Life, 4J37.

History, 488.

Houses, The, 490.

House Masters, 490.

Lower School, 488.

Mathematics, 488.

Masters, Number of, 488.

Master of Marlborough College,

487.
Mathematics, 488.
Modem School, 488.
Old Marlburian Scholarships, 490.

Sia

Index,

Private Tutor, 491.
Religious Culture, 48S.
Scholarships, 489.
School, Upper, 488.

Modeni, 488.

Lower, 488.

Visitor, 486.

MERCHANT TAYLORS'.

Admission, Age of, 229.

• Qualification for, 229.

Arithmetic, 229, 233.
Boarding-houses and Boarders, 24a
Buildings, The, 223 ,
Boys, In umber of, 229.
Number of in each dass, 232,

233.
Charges, School, 240.
Classes, 232.

Classics, when taught, 23a
Company, Merchant Taylors', Court

of; Old List of, 213.

Present List, 250.

Court of Assistants, 219, 226.
Drawing, 231.
English Literature, 231.
Examinations or Probations, 231.
Exhibitions, 234, 235.
Expenses, 24a
Fagging, 237.

Forms, Arrangement o( 230.
Number of bojrs in each of the,

232.
Foundation, 211, 226.
French, 232.
Geography, 231.
German, 934.

Governing Body, 226, 250.
Hebrew, 231, 234.
History, 231.
Holid^s, 239.

Tames I. , Entertainment before, 221.
Library, 334.
Masters, List of Head, 242.

List of present, 251.

Duties and Emoluments of,

227.
Merchant Taylors' School, History

of, 210 — 22$.
Celebrated members of, 242 —

250.

Monitorial System, 237.

Mulcaster, Richard, 213, 242.

Music, 231.

Prizes, 234.

Probation^ Establishment of the,

217.

Examination ot 218.

Register ot 220.

Mcxlern, 231.

Punishments, 237 — 239.
Recommendations, Special, of the

Conunissioners, 252.
Scholarships, 235, 236.
School, Arrangements of the, 230.
Scheme of tuition, 233.
Science, Physical, 234.
Sports, 239.
Religious instruction, 240.

ROSSALU

Admission, Age of^ 495.

Mode of, 495.

Arithmetic, 494.

Boys, Number of, 495.

Capitation Fees, 494.

Chapel, 494.

Civil Engineering Class, 495.

Service Cls^ 495.

Commercial Class, 494.
Council, The, 492.
Dictation, 494.
Diet, 496.
Discipline, 495.
Donors, 495.
Drawing, 494.
Exhibitions, 496.
Foundation, 491.
French, 494.
Geography, 494.
German, 494.
Govemmg &dy, 491.
Holidays, 496.
Hours, 494.
Masters, 492, 493, 494.
Mathematics, 494.
Mercantile Class, 495.
Military Class, 494.
Naval Class, 494.
President, The, 492.
Recreations, 495.
School, The, 494.

Index*

513

Classical School, The^ 494.

Modern, 494.

Writing, 494.

RUGBY.

Admission, Age of, 373, 374.

Qualification for, 373, 374.

Trustees, Rules for, 373.

Bathing, 389.
Big School, 358.

Side Lev^e, 388.

Boarding-houses, 391.

Boys, Number of, 372.

Buildings, The, 358.

Chancery Scheme, 358.

Chapel, The, 359.

Conduit Close property, 352.

Constitution of the charity, 365.

Diet, 392.

Distinctions, University, 378.

Distinguished Rugbeians, 394.

Divisions, Ordinary, 375.

Parallel, 375.

in Mathematical School, 379.

Drawing, 383.
Examinations, 384.
Exhibitions, 385.
Expenses, 392, 393.
Expulsion, 388.
Facging, 387.
Fellows, Rugby, 371.
Foundation, 350, 365.
Foundationers, 393.

Non, 373—393.

French, 380.
German, 380.
Governing Body, 365.

List of, in 1&5, 396.

Grammars in use, 374.

Great Crick run, 389.

Hare and Hounds, Game of, 389.

History, 376.

Holidays, 390.

Honour List, 385.

Hours of School, 375, 390.

Income, 354, 357, 365.

Inquisition, 355, 365.

Lawrence Sheriff (the Founder), 350

—354.
Libraries, 358, 390.

Licking, 387.

Masters, duties, emoluments, &c. of,

366—371.

List of Head, 394.

List of, in 1865, 396.

Modem Languages, 380.
Monitorial system, 386.
Music, 383.
Natural Philosophy, 382.

Assistant, 371.

Praepostors, 363.
Prizes, 385, 386.
Promotion, 379.
Punishments, 388.
Reconmiendations, Special, by the

Public Schools' Commission, 397.
Religious observances, 39a
Revenues, 354, 357, 365.
Rifle Corps, 390.
Rugbeians distinguished, 394.
School, The Big, 358.

The, 374.

Classical, 374.

Arrangement of, 375.

Mathematical, 378.

Lower, 379.

Natural Philosophy, 382,

Close, 388.

Hours of, 390.

Sheriff Lawrence (die Founder), 350,
354.

Sports and Pastimes, 388.
Time of work, 375, 383.
Trustees, Original, 351, 365.

Existing, 366.

in 1865, 396.

Usher, 369,
Vacations, 39a
Work, Time of, 383.

SHREWSBURY.

Admission, Age of, 421.

Qualification of old, for, 430.

— Qualifications now, for, 421.
Aggregate Merit Prize, 423.
Ashton, Thomas, 406, 409, 410,

411.
Letter to the Corporation of

Shrewsbury, 410.

Ordinances of, 412, 419.

Astley, Chapel of, 409.
Authority, Visitorial, 418.

L L

SH

Index.

Bailiffs and Burgesses, 409.

Ordinances, 420.

Benefices, 404, 419.

Boarding-houses, 427.

Buildings (the School, the Chapel,

&c.), 413-
Burgesses, Sons of, 413, 420.
Chancery, Scheme of, 1S53, 421.
Charter of Edward VI . 404, 4 1 8, 4 1 9.
Chirbury, Tithes of, 409.

Parish of, 4 12, 413.

Classical Work, Great amount of,

421.
Clive, 419.

Clifie (or Clive), Chapel of, 409.
Course of Studies, 421.
Day-boys, 427.
Diet, 427.

Discipline, Secretary of, 425.
Distinguished Members of Shrews-
bury School, 430.
Divinity lessons, 426.
Division of Forms, 421.
Drawing, 422.

Educational Staff'(i865), 436.
Edward VI. Charter of, 404, 418,

419.
Endowment, 404, 409, 41 8.
Examinations, 423.
Exhibitions, 423.
Expenses, House and School, 428,

429.
Fag^g, 425.
French, 422.
Geography, 422.
Governing Body (1865), 418.
Government, 412, 413, 4 18.
History, 422.
Holidays, 426.

Hounds, Crame of, 426.

Indenture of Queen Elizabeth, 409.

Libera Schola) Dr. Kennedy's in-
terpretation of, 405.

Library, The, 416.

Marks, Table of, 422.

Masters, Qualifications and Emolu-
ments of, 419.

List of Head, 430.

— Present List of, 436.

Mathematics, 422.

Merit marks, 425.

Merit money, 424.

Monitorial system, 424.

Natural Science, 423.
Number of boys, 420.
Ordinances, the Bailiffs, 409, 420.

Mr. Ashton's, 412, 419.

Praepostors, 424.
Private tuition, 422.
Prizes, 423.
Punishments, 425.
Recommendations, Special, by the

Schools' Commissioners, 437.
Religious observances, 426.
Revenues, 418.
Scheme, Chancery, 421.
School, Some account of Shrews-

buiy, 404, 417.

Foundation of, 404, 418.

Rooms, 41 4, 415.

Work in, 421, 422.

Register of, 421, 433.

Sports and pastimes, 426.
St Mary and St. Chad, 405.
Tuition, Private, 422.
Trustees, 418.
Vacations, 426.
Visitorial authority, 418.

ST. PAUL'S.

Admission, Age of, 188.

Qualification for, 188.

Apposition, 190.

Assistants, Court of (1865), 199.

Building, The (Ancient and Modem,

Schools), 177.
Chaplain, The ancient, 182.
Child, Bishop, sermon, 172.
Childermas Day, 172.
Colet, Dr. John, Account o(i 165 —

177.
Court of Assistants, 199.
Discipline, 191.
Educational Staff in 1865, 199.
Eminent Paulines, 193.
Endowment, 187.
Examinations, 190.
Exhibitions, 190.
Foundation, 170, 186.
French, 189.

Governing Body, 173, 186, 199.
High Master, Ancient, 179.
Holidays, 192.
Lily, William, First High Master,

175.

Index,

5^5

Library, 179.

Mathematics, 189.

Masters, Emoluments, &c. of, 188.

List of High, 193, 199.

Mercers, Company of, 173, 178,

186.
Nomination of Scholars, 188.
Prizes, 190.
Promotions, 190.
Punishments, Severity of, in the early

times of the School, 176.

Mildness of, at present, 191.

Recommendations, Special, of the

Commissioners on Pubhc Schools,

200.
Recreations, 191.
Religious observances, prescribed by

the Founder, 192.

Present, 192.

Removal of the School proposed,

200.
Revenues, 187.

Scholars, Number of, 171, 183.
School History of St. Paul's, 164, 185.

Arrangement of, 189.

Hours of, 191.

St. Anthon/s, 166.

Statutes, 179.

Study, Course of, 172, 189.

Surmaster, The ancient, 181.

Surveyors of the School, 186.

Under Usher, 187.

Vacations, 192.

Winter Speeches, 190.

WELLINGTON.

Admission, Age of, 497.

Qualifications for, 498.

Chemistry, 499.
Dormitories, 500.
Drawing, 499.
Expenses, 498, 501.
Exhibitions, 499.
Education, System of, 498.

Modem Elements of, 498.

Diet, 501.
Foundation, 496.
Foundationers, 497.

Non, 498.

Foundation Scholarships, 499.
French, 498, 499.

Governors, 496.

£x>officio, 497.

History, 498.
Library, 501.
Masters, 497.
Modem History, 499.
President, 496.
Scholarships, 499, 500.
Schools, Upper, 499.

Middle, 499.

Lower, 499.

Studies, 500.
Tutorial system, 500,
Visitor, 496.

WESTMINSTER.

Admission, Age of, 135.

— ^ Qualification for, 135.

Archididascalus, 133.

Boarding-houses, I46.

Boarders' -home, 147.

Boys, Number of, 139.

Town, 1 40.

Building, The, 121.

Busby, Dr. 131.

Camden's Greek Grammar, 131,

Chapter-Tenants, 132.

Chiswick, House at, 119.

Choristers, 132.

College Cook, The, 124.

Hall, 13a

Hail Dinner, 138.

Challenges or Competitions, 119,

135.
Course of Study, 141.

Curious Story connected with, 124.
Curtain between the Upper and

Lower Schools, 124.
Custom on Shrove Tuesday, 124.
Dean and Chapter of Westminster,

132-
Diet of Queen's Scholars, 137.

in Boarding-houses, 146.

Divisions, 141.

Dormitory, The, 125.

Drawing, 142.

Educational Staff in 1865, 157.

Electors, 135.

Eminent Westminsters, 148.

Examinations, 142.

Exhibitions, 143.

Si6

Index,

Expenses of the Queen's Scholars,
138.

of Town Boys, 146.

of Half-Boarders, 146.

of Home-Boarders, 147.

Fagging, 144-
Fencing, 146.

Fees, Entrance, 134.

Leaving, 134.

Fonn8» Arrangement of the, 141.

Geography, 142.

Government, 132.

Half-Boarders, 146.

Helps, 136.

Holidays, 145.

Home-Boarders, 147.

Hom^ School, 143.

Hypodidascalus, 133.

Income of the Chapter, 135.

Library, 130.

Masters, Duties of, 133.

Statutable Allowance of, 133.

List of Head, I48.

Emoluments of, 133.

Assistant, 134.

Matron, 137.

Miracle Plays, 126.

Monitorial System, 144,

Music, 142.

Oppidans, 140.

Pensionarii, 140.

Peregrini, 139.

Play-ground, 137.

Plays, Performance ofi 128.

Private Tuition, 143.

Prizes, I43.

Promotion, I42.

Punishments, 145.

Recommendations of the Commis-
sioners, 158.
Religious Culture, 145.
Sanatorium, 137.
Scholars, Queen's, 135.

Number of, 135.

Election of, 135.

— — Accommodation of, 136.

Diet of, 137.

Expenses of, 138.

Scholars, Bishop Williams', 139.
School, Arrangement of the, 141.

Mathematical, 141.

The Old, 122.

Sports and Pastimes, 145.

St. Peters Monastery, 116.
Statutes of Queen Elizabeth, 117.
Studies, Course of, 141.
Studentships, Junior, 143.
Trials, 142.
Tuition, Private, 143.
Visitor, 133.

WINCHESTER.

Admission, Age of, 81 — 84.

Arithmetic, 89.

Arrangement of the School, 84.

Barter, Rev. R. S. 95.

Bedminster Fund, 92.

Benefices, 78.

Biographical Chronology of Wyke-

ham, 69.
Boarding-houses, 96.
" Books," 84.
Boy Tutors, 88.
Buildings, The, 71.
Chapel, The, 73.
Choristers, 78, 80.
Classicus Paper, 91.
Collie, Some Account of the,

62—77.

Constitution of, 78.

Tutor, 88.

Common«time, 95.
Course of Study, 89.
Cricket at Winchester, 94.
Crimean Monument, 73.
Diet, 97.
Drawing, 90.
Dulce Domum, 96.
Educational Staff in 1865, iii.
Endowments, 78.
Examinations, Competitive, 81.
Exhibitions, 91.

Expenses of a Foundationer, 82.
98.

of a Commoner, 97.

Fagging, 93.
Fellows, The, 78, 70.
FUu Nobilium, 85.
Forms, Arrangement of the, 84.
Foundation of New CoU^, Ox-
ford, 67.

Winchester Coll<^;e, 68.

Goddard Fund, The, 86.
Governing Power, 79.